The Chosen One
by AliZoe
Summary: Taken from Atlantis, the Wraith homeworld, and other various planets, "The Chosen One" gives the history of the Wraith and the war with Atlantis. Then, transporting to the future, the Atlantis Expedition makes a discovery that will change the course of Wraith and Humanity alike in the Pegasus Galaxy. Including original characters on all spectrums.
1. Prologue-The Ominous Seed

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe © 2014

Prologue

The Ominous Seed

Atlantis, the great city of the people who created the magnificent and majestic Stargates. They roamed from planet to planet in the Pegasus Galaxy, leaving behind a seed of their people to grow and develop, entrusting one of their beloved Stargates with the settlements. To many of their seedlings, they were the great ancestors.

Today was one of those days that I was anticipating. I was finally old enough to see the third settlement begin rebuilding their home on what seemed like a foreboding planet. This planet was some considerable distance from Atlantis, almost on the other side of the galaxy. The first settlement lived on for fifty years without any reports of abnormality. Disappearances erupted without warning until there was none left. The Council at that time deduced that there was some kind of toxin on the planet that killed them.

The second settlement ended the same way, except there were no toxins on the celestial body to be found. It was all mysterious but fascinating to me. We werenʼt intimidated by the challenge. We were attempting for the third time to settle this planet despite the inauspiciousness of the last two endeavors.

The ride to the planet seemed to go by so fast due to my excitement. It looked so beautiful from this view, I could hardly contain myself. The Stargate lay dormant just out of orbit of the planet. My parents accompanied me to one of the shuttles along with a group of other settlers. Once we reached the surface, I quickly ran to the opening of the vessel. "Be careful, my dear," my father warned with a smile. He knew about my apprehension. I looked back at him and nodded my head in obedience.

Once the door opened, I peeked outside to look around. The beautiful trees were tall and green with beautiful pearly, white bark. Seeing no danger, we all exited the craft. We walked a ways into the trees until we found another clearing. I knew this was where we would plant the seeds to the people who would live here. I watched as the ceremony began.

I found myself distracted by some rustling in the trees. I turned and walked a little bit closer to the sound. The noise moved and I saw more foliage being pushed out of place. Being headstrong, I chased after it until I ran into another clearing. I ran through the bushes into the open field where the yellowed grass reached my waist in length. I found a man there a distance ahead with his back towards me. His skin was pale and he had a large black tattoo on his bare back. It resembled sword like wings as it stretched across most of his back. His hair was long and black and was pulled into a straight half ponytail. I was caught off guard as he stood there motionless. "Are you from the second settlement?" I asked timidly.

There was no response. Apparitions began appearing all around me in circles, going too fast for me to make out what they were. My ten year old self began to whimper and shake out of fear. "Please sir! Help me! Iʼm scared!"

He turned his head slightly in my direction, without showing his face. What sounded like a loud growl, he roared, "RUN!" I flinched at the outburst and immediately ran back the way I came. The ghost-like images ceased to follow me as I found my parents and the others again. The ceremony was almost over. My mother quickly came over to me and embraced me.

"Where were you? I was worried sick!"

"I saw something and got scared! Iʼm sorry!" I cried into my mother's shoulder.

"Itʼs alright, my dear. Shhh...everythingʼs going to be fine. Stay with me and finish watching. Youʼre safe now. Nothing is going to happen to you." I nodded my head and clutched onto the hem of her shirt. She glanced up at my father in worry. He inclined his head with a frown, ignoring her. I turned and watched the establishment of the third settlement in awe, almost forgetting completely what I had just experienced.


	2. Chapter 1-What I've Overcome

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe (c) 2014

Chapter One

What I've Overcome

"What I've Overcome" by Fireflight

I was standing in my room, staring at myself in the mirror. A look of apprehension was on my face. My hair had grown long and curly, stretching almost a third of the way down my back. My eyes, dark brown and large, stared into my reflection with intensity. My rounded face and full lips completed my tall, hourglass body shape as I sighed in anticipation. I ran my fingers over my necklace, that had a mini replica of a Stargate as a pendant, my mother had given me when I was twelve. I leaned over the small personal sink closer to the mirror. "Captain, Commander Aurora wishes to speak with you," a man spoke as he entered my quarters.

"Thank you, Tirrian, Iʼm on my way," I replied, standing up straight. Tirrian smiled as he left the room once again. I took one last glance in the mirror with a long exhale.

"Here goes, Alisia," I muttered to myself as I walked out of my quarters. I made the short journey through Atlantis corridors to the Gate Room where the round, magnificent Stargate resided. I glanced up at the Stargate Control stations where Commander Aurora stood in authority.

"Captain, please join me in my ready room," Commander Aurora announced as he turned and walked out of sight. He was a tall man whoʼs presence emitted deference. I glanced at the floor as I climbed the stairs up to where Commander Aurora indicated. As I entered the room, Commander Aurora spoke with his back towards me, "Captain, there were complications with the settlement on that planet. It is unwise and foolish for you to journey there."

"I am aware of your concerns, Commander, but I-" I started.

"You are so close to ascension. These people were unfortunate and will be investigated in a later time," Commander Aurora interrupted, turning to face me. "Your mother would be disappointed if she knew you were delaying your ascension."

"I cannot ascend if I still have these worries. You know that I must find out for myself what happened to those people. I was one of the chosen ones who helped settle the third group of people there."

"Alisia, your nobleness is well noted, but you are failing to recognize what youʼre putting at risk with your lingering here in this mortal state."

"Father! I know how it feels to have Mother leave us behind while she achieved ascension. I wish with all my heart that I could show her how much we have accomplished in the past eight years. She would tell me now to get rid of these feelings of anguish before I can fully make the mental preparations of my own ascension."

"Send someone in your place then. We are still...unsure as to what happened to those people. Can you not see the dangers in what you are about to do?"

"I am now the captain of a large warship that is armed with countless drones. I have plenty of protection at my disposal with a crew that is very reliable. I must go. Please, all Iʼm asking is a month," I begged. There was a brief pause from Commander Aurora with the air so still that I heard my own heart beat in apprehension.

"Very well, but no more than one month. If I do not hear from you in one month, I will personally come and retrieve you. I am not losing the last of my family to death," he replied in sternness.

"Understood, thank you, Father." I smiled as I embraced him tightly. "I am ready, wish me luck?"

"As always," Commander Aurora responded, releasing me. "I look forward to your report."

"I will make it thorough," I smiled again. With a turn on my heels, I headed towards my ship. Tirrian joined me on the way.

"Good luck Captain Aurora," he smiled as I stepped up onto the ramp of the large ship.

"Thank you, Tirrian, and how many times have I asked you to call me Alisia?" I winked. Tirrian just stood with a smile on his face as the ramp door shut in front of me. I raised an eyebrow with a small smirk. Wondering when he would finally admit our attraction, I turned to head towards the bridge of the ship. My crew paused at attention as I passed.

"At ease, gentlemen," I chuckled. This would be my first experience as a captain and was not used to the treatment of authority. As I reached the bridge, I glanced through the large window down to the dock where we were docked. Commander Aurora stood there with a smile of worry on his face. I gave a small wave and one last glance. "Alright, take us up."

The shipʼs engines roared in ignition as the ship began to lift off the water. The battleship shook slightly as the lifting process stabilized through the atmosphere and into a steady orbit. "We reached a secure orbit over Atlantis, Captain. Engines are holding with all systems online and working to full capacity," my first officer, Rivolliere announced.

"Set the course to the planet where the third establishment went missing," I commanded with a smile of anticipation. "Letʼs go see what happened to those humble people."

"Yes, Captain," Rivollierre acknowledged as the ship opened a hyperspace window. With a jolt into the opening, the ship jumped into hyperspace with ease as the space between spaces roared past us in a blue blur.

"How long will it be until we reach the planet?" I asked, openly.

"This ship is one of the finest. I suspect we'll be there within several hours, Captain," Rivolliere answered as if in apprehension.

"Is something wrong, Rivolliere? You seem worried."

"You and I both know of my objection to travel to that cursed planet," he replied with angst. I raised one corner of my mouth.

"I hardly think that planet is cursed, Rivolliere. I donʼt believe in curses and neither should you. Just because the last three times Atlantis has tried to colonize that planet ended in the people missing, does not deem it as paranormal. Weʼre going there to investigate why the last settlement went missing. It doesnʼt make sense that they would all suddenly disappear after sixteen years have passed," I explained in a casual manner. "I was there to help establish the third settlement on that planet when I was a child. Iʼm not about to allow their vanishment go unnoticed."

"Suit yourself, Captain. I respect your decision," he replied, looking away unconvinced. He had always been a superstitious man ever since I first met him. He capped my age by ten years, leaving me the youngest captain in Atlantean history at the age of twenty-six. Diligent in my work, I gained this position by my unmatched leadership abilities, optimism, and by the fact that I dealt with high levels of stress very easily. Many speculated that I was promoted to the rank of captain of a warship because my father was the Commander. Ignoring the gossip and ridicule, I felt honored to be placed in such a respectful position and trust by my father.

Nothing interesting befell the ship as we traveled through hyperspace until we finally came to the point to jump out of hyperspace and enter the planet in questionʼs orbit. Just as Rivolliere predicted, it only took a few hours. "Weʼre here, Captain. Weʼve dropped out of hyperspace and entered a stable orbit over the planet," he reported in uneasiness, yet he hid it well.

"Thank you, Rivolliere. I will take a small team with me in one of the smaller ships and go down to the planetʼs surface. We will begin our search," I announced with mixed feelings of nervousness and determination. I was going to get to the bottom of the mysterious vanishment of the third settlement even if it took me the entire month.

"Stay in orbit above our position and monitor our progress."

"Understood, Captain," he replied. I turned on my heels and made my way to the ship hanger with a small group of armed Atlanteans for observation and protection. We walked up to one of the cylindrically shaped ships. I tapped the back of the ship, releasing the doorʼs hatch that opened slowly. Walking up the door that now became a ramp, I entered the ship and walked to the front half of the small vessel. The door closed behind my last crew member as I tapped the control panel, turning all of the shipʼs controls on. I sat down in the pilotʼs seat and with a single thought, the shipʼs engines gaped open and ignited.

"All systems are working to full capacity. Rivolliere, you may open the hanger bay doors. We are ready," I announced using the shipʼs communication systems.

"Understood, Captain. Good luck," responded Rivolliere. The bay doors opened. The atmosphere remained intact with a shield that was permeable only to the ship my crew and I were in. Turning and moving the ship towards the doors, I piloted the craft through the shield with ease and down to the planet. The protection of its own shield kept the ship from dissolving in the atmosphere with no difficulty. We reached the planetʼs surface without delay and landed safely. Opening the back door once again, my crew stood up and exited, guns in hand. I was the last to exit the ship.

"You two stay here and guard the ship. Weʼre still unsure as to what happened to the settlement," I commanded two of the crew members. They nodded their heads and stayed behind. Cloaking the ship, the rest of my team of five and I began our search through the forest and heavily populated cave area.

The landscapes were eerily quiet, but just as I remembered sixteen years ago. The stillness was alarming, not even a fowl was to be heard. The only sounds that came were the buzzing of unseeable insects. The droning was intimidating, but we continued onward. Several hours passed in vain as our search ended with no results. "Alright, weʼll cover more ground tomorrow, hopefully, with evidence as to where these people went," I sighed. It suddenly went silent, not even the insects were audible. Pausing at the oddness, we turned around to make our way back to the ship when one of my team members was snagged into the foliage with a shriek. I gasped as the other members of my team encircled me with guns pointing in every direction. Once again, another member of my team was grabbed right off his feet and into the trees. Everyone began shooting, blindly into the treetops, hoping to kill whatever was ambushing us. A slight terror engulfed my entire body as one by one, my team was easily taken until it was only me left alone. I groaned with anxiety as my gun jammed. I hit the butt of it several times, without success. Throwing it to the ground in frustration, I yanked out my knife from my belt and circled around on my feet in anticipation as my adrenaline pumped me to full alert.

"Weʼre not here to harm you. Weʼre here to help. Please, return my people and we can negotiate peacefully what you want," I announced to the forest. The only sound heard was my quickened heart beat, uneven breath, and a slight breeze through the trees. Looking up too late, a giant, black insect pounced from the tree above me and smashed my body to the ground, knocking me on my back. Puncturing my neck with its sharp teeth, it began drinking my blood. I gasped for air, but the insect made it difficult with its long, strong arms wrapping themselves around my chest and back, crushing my torso and immobilizing me. I tried to stab the knife into the insectʼs body, but its carapace was too thick to penetrate. I lost more strength every second. Helpless, my eyesight began to blur. The pain was so intense that it started to numb my senses as I lay there dying.

Feeling like all hope was lost, I contemplated my life up to that point, never being able to reach ascension. Just then, I heard footsteps, slowly walk up to me. Barely able to see, I looked up at the man standing by my side. "Please...help me," I gasped.

The man cocked his masked face to the side and bent down. He reached his right arm over my body and placed his hand underneath the insect and on my chest right below my collar bone. He pressed his palm into my skin. I gasped once again as the insect shrieked. My body slowly felt as if it were shrinking into itself with all the energy and adrenaline leaving me even faster. The man growled loudly through the mask as the insect loosened its grip around me. Feeling the strength and energy return to my body, I pushed the insectʼs now dead, shriveled body off of me. I gulped in air as the man removed his hand from me and leaned his face closer to mine.

My vision returned to its full capacity as I stared at the large insectoid. It's carapace was hard and black with a soft orange underbelly. It's face resembled that of a spider with it's fangs on either side of it's jaw as opposed to the front. There were big scales that waved over each other starting at the neck joint and flowing down the long, thin tail. It had large, thick wings, that didn't look built to fly, on either side of the shoulder joints. It's four legs were long and tough with pincer-like spikes on the forearms just under the joint. I shuttered at the sight of it.

I turned to look at my rescuer. His greying black hair was long and dangled past his chest. He wore a peculiar fashion of body armor that resembled somewhat the insect that was just petrified. He wore a grey, grooved mask that covered his entire face with no visible holes for ventilation or sight. His young, muscular build confused me as I contemplated his elderly age. He mustʼve been at least fifty, I determined by his hair color. His skin was extremely pale, almost white with long, pointed fingernails on his hands.

"Thank you," I said, standing up with soreness. I continued examining the man as he did the same to me. He stood at most six feet, seven inches in height. Feeling an overwhelming dizziness come over my body, my legs gave out under me as I fell unconscious. The man caught me before I hit the ground.

I gasped in air as I shot upright from laying on a cold, damp cave floor. The walls of the cave were surprisingly comfortable, cushioned by some smooth, red muscle which grew all along its surface. My muscles ached with a throb pounding in sync with my heartbeat as I scooted my body to a cave wall, leaning my aching back against it. I breathed heavily, trying to bring my accelerated heart rate down out of dangerous speeds.

"Are you alright, young Queen?" asked a deep voice from a dark corner of the cave. I jumped as my body became cold with sweat. The voice was strange to me. It had two different tones in it: one, a normal deep male tone, and the other sounding almost like a growl. "My Queen?"

I widened my eyes, not knowing what to reply. I heard the figure stand up and walk into the light. It was the same man as before, large and muscular in stature with aged long greying black, straight hair. He gracefully walked over and crouched down next to me. His countenance was still concealed by the faceless, ventless, grooved grey mask.

"Who are you? And why did you save me? Don't misunderstand me, I am grateful you did," I asked, wiping a large amount of sweat from her brow. Feeling pale and ill, I started shivering with a fever. I gasped, flexing my fingers and hands, attempting to prevent the growing numbness from taking over them. The man gently placed one of my hands in both of his. He began massaging it with utmost care. My hand twitched as the manʼs palm glided across the top of mine. Pulling away, I glanced at his palm, trying to figure out what made the strange sensation. He allowed me to turn his hand over and run my fingers along the red slit that stretched the entire length of his palm starting just below the joint of his middle finger and ending right before his wrist, widening slightly in the middle. I was full of puzzlement as I continued feeling the sides of the split which had tiny holes lining its edge that had an overgrown effect as if the skin was grafting over the injury much like a large scar. It felt as if something had peeled away enough layers of skin to reveal the soft tissue underneath. "You are injured! Did that beast hurt you?"

He chuckled through his mask. "Your eyes changed, which intrigued me, and no, my Queen. I am not injured at all. This is how I feed."

"This? You eat, through this? Is that how you breathe as well?" I cocked my head in curiosity.

"No, my Queen." he chuckled again. "I breathe the same way you do."

"But how with that mask covering your face? And you said my eyes changed? What does that even mean? Are they not brown anymore?"

"They were when I first found you, but they are like mine now. A metamorphosis took place."

I scrunched my eyebrows, perplexed. I shook my head and decided to move on. My head was pounding too heavily and I didn't want to dwell on it any further. "Why do you keep referring to me as ʻyour queenʼ? Forgive me, but I donʼt even know your name. We are not acquainted in such...elegant, let alone, casual manners. I am Alisia Aurora of Atlantis."

"Lantean? Iʼm not so sure that you can call yourself Lantean anymore," he trailed off.

"What do you mean?" I questioned furling my eyebrows again in confusion. The man seemed to study me through whatever way he saw me. Tilting his head, he picked up my hand once again, continuing the massage. "I appreciate your efforts, but I have no feeling in my hands anymore. The numbness is spreading up my wrists and arms."

He gave a soft chuckle in his throat. "It truly is happening then. I speculated it might have not had time to inject enough to do so."

"What? What did that monstrosity do? What is happening to me?"

"Your transformation, of course. The insect that attacked you has been genetically mutated and evolved into that state. The toxins in its suction left the Wraith genetics inside your body. You are well on your way to becoming a Wraith."

"Wraith? I do not know that species." He stood up and tilted his head the other way.

"You are weak and must feed. From what I have observed, you cannot eat as Wraith do at the moment. I will hunt down some compatible food for you to gain sustenance from." He turned and headed towards the entrance of the cave.

"WAIT! I donʼt understand! What are Wraith?" I hollered, feeling panicked.

He paused and turned to face me again. "I am Wraith, young Queen Alisia. And it is a Wraith that your metamorphosis will bring you to be." With that said, he exited the cave in a sprint into the forest. Feeling overwhelmed, I allowed my body to slide to the ground again, laying on my side. Without warning, my heart accelerated a second time. I gasped for air but none came. In a matter of seconds, my heart stopped beating. Blackness instantly filled my eyes as my mind faded.

Dead.

Screaming, my body filled with life again. The woman standing beside me removed her hand from just beneath my collar bone. I panted as I felt my heart beat stabilize. The woman gazed at me with sadness in her eyes and returned to her own gurney. Noticing the chains around the womanʼs ankles, wrists, and neck that connected themselves to the gurney itself, I tried sitting up myself, but to no avail. I was bound in the same way, except mine were pulled tight for immobility.

"I see he has not spared another experiment," the woman spoke out loud to no one in particular. She had the same two toned voice that my rescuer had, except with a feminine sound.

"I donʼt understand. Who did this to you? Why are we bound?" I responded. My voice had changed. It sounded very similar to the womanʼs next to me, which startled me. The dark room concealed most of the womanʼs face and figure, but I knew there was something different about her. She placed her hand on her stomach and caressed the enlargement. She was pregnant.

"That Lantean scientist," the woman began. "He has been experimenting on my people for nearly fifty years. We are still learning technologies and are far outmatched. We never stood a chance against the weaponry and tranquilizing powers he bears." She paused. "He has also violated me!"

"What? How repulsive! Lantean...wait. Thatʼs what the man who rescued me from a horrible beast referred to as the people of Atlantis, my people."

"Your people?!" the woman questioned in anger. The lights flickered on as a quarantine suited man entered the room. My attention went back to the woman. Gasping, I couldnʼt help but stare at the womanʼs terrifying beauty. Her skin was a pale avocado that made her golden brown cat-like eyes stare intensely. Her platinum blonde hair was extremely long, lengthening down to her waist with an elegant wave to it. Her eyebrow bone protruded more over her eyes than any normal human I had encountered, creating a rather eerie skeletal effect with the shadows in the intense light above. She had the same slitted openings as a snakeʼs sensory organ visible on her face just below her eyes and next to her nose. She had a black tattoo over her left eye that was unbroken, reaching up to the middle of her forehead and down over her eye, passing around her sensory pit on her cheek. It looked like brandished wings with jagged waves as the feathers on the sail of the appendage. Bizarre enough, it was deja vu to my eyes. Her nostrils stretched to a point as they reconnected with her face, and her teeth were sharp and almost shark-like in formation with her full lips parting over them. She had clawed fingernails on her hands that gracefully draped over her legs as she sat with her knees up, leaning one of her extremely high and sharp cheekbones on them. She wore a simple brown dress that covered her tall, thin, impregnated body perfectly.

"What have they done to you?" I asked in horror.

"Alisia! Thank the stars youʼre awake!" the suited man exclaimed. I squinted my eyes to try and see him. He began unshackling me. I sat up and rubbed my wrists where I was bound. "This monster did not hurt you in anyway, did she?"

The woman hissed at the man as I peered through the windowed opening of the suit where the manʼs face was visible. "Tirrian?"

"Yes, Alisia. I saved you from a savage and brought you here. I had to bind you to keep you from being taken into captivity again."

I rubbed my eye with the palm of my hand and gasped. Looking to find the sensation, I discovered the same feeding organ there as I examined on my rescuer. I kept staring with utmost confusion. "Whatʼs wrong?" Tirrian asked with concern on his face.

"Can you not see and hear? Iʼm changing into something, Tirrian! The man who rescued me from this giant insectoid deduced that I was mutating into a...Wraith!"

He grabbed my hand and studied it. "Fascinating..." he mumbled.

"What?"

"We discovered that the missing settlements were fed upon by a leech-like insect we named, the Iratus bug. These insects fed upon enough humans that their young began taking on human characteristics. The result created these beings known as the Wraith, solely named by the fact that theyʼre tall, thin, extremely pale, and that death follows them everywhere. Odd enough, they can also create hallucinations that resemble ghosts," he expounded glancing over at the woman. She hissed again. "That, my dear, is a Wraith queen. Disgusting isnʼt it?" Tirrian asked with an arrogant confidence as he stepped up next to my chained gurney. The woman hissed with a furious irritation. He ignored her. "I see one of my experiments took a feeding off of you. Naughty thing escaped my lab and killed your entire away team. Of course, if it wasnʼt for a faceless savage, you would have been killed as well. Iʼm afraid you have been infected with a most horrible condition that I do not have a cure for," Tirrian replied with a false worry in his voice.

"What have you done to me?"

"Like I said, I have done nothing. I found you dead in a cave. This female abomination here restored your life. Fascinating, isnʼt it?"

I closed my eyes in disbelief. "I donʼt believe you."

"But I would never lie to you, Alisia. You see, when the first settlement on this planet went missing, I was one of the scientists who came to investigate. I was only twenty-five at the time when I discovered the Wraith," Tirrian walked over to the woman, who was growling under her breath and baring her sharp teeth. He mockingly caressed her face. She pulled away and thrust her hand at his chest. Wearing a personal shield, Tirrian laughed as her hand rebounded, much to her frustration. She hissed at him again, returning to a nearly upright fetal position.

"Wait, the first settlement went missing over fifty years ago. We didnʼt attempt to colonize the planet for another twenty years due to thinking there was an outbreak of toxins in the atmosphere that killed the people. I read that in a log entry when I was only a child. How is it that she claims you have been experimenting on her people for fifty years!? That would make you..."

"Seventy-five? Yes, another fascinating discovery I made upon...studying these creatures. They feed off life force, which is how they maintain their youth. I created a serum by extracting their blood just after they partake of life force. Itʼs quite ingenious actually and can restore life when someone has passed on, or keep one young like the way I use it."

"You mean, you could have restored my life, but chose to drag me here and chain me to this operation table as a corpse?" He shrugged his shoulders in a ridiculed manner.

"That is the nature of this fiend!" the woman snarled to me.

"WHAT HAVE I SAID ABOUT SPEAKING?!" Tirrian roared as he swung the back of his hand at her face. She took the blow with a cringe of deep sorrow in her eyes.

"ENOUGH! Tirrian! What has gotten into you?" I questioned in a rage. "Your obsession has gone too far! These poor people are tortured by your presence here!"

"His obsession has taken what too far, Alisia?" I heard my father say as he entered the room with the same style of suit on that Tirrian was wearing.

"Father?" I gasped with great surprise. "You knew about this?"

"He was the one who allowed me to carry the work forward, in secrecy, of course. The experimentation would never have passed well with the Council, but I knew that there would be great advances in medicine, biology, and genetics that it would be shameful to pass up. Isnʼt that right, Orion?" Tirrian began to clarify.

"Do NOT speak to my father in such a casual manner! He is your commander and demands that respect!"

"On the contrary, I supersede him in age, making me an elder. I demand respect. We both came to this planet so long ago. It was I who discovered these aberrations, and it was he who agreed to let me start my work. He was the Chief of Security at the time, and concocted that lie about the toxic atmosphere in order to allow my work to press forward uninterrupted. We installed a Stargate in this base so as to travel back and forth with valuable data undetected."

"Tirrian, why must your mouth always get away from you. She did not need to know all of this. If I had just listened to my instincts, she wouldnʼt even be here in this state!" Commander Aurora scolded.

"How long were you going to allow this? How long were you planning on keeping this from me? From Atlantis?!" I begged my father in a tortured pain.

"It was necessary, for your own good."

"ʻFor my own goodʼ? My body is mutating, Iʼve died once already, and I was strapped to this table like some science freak ready to be opened up, and this is ʻfor my own goodʼ? You knew! You knew and still allowed me to come here, knowing some of my crew would die! Both of you knew!" I blamed with tears of rage and sorrow filled my eyes as my voice quivered.

"Of course we did! The savages are getting hungry again and needed a fresh supply of food. I sent a distress signal which brought your warship out of orbit and landed them near here. I canʼt have hungry test subjects," Tirrian said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"That is how these creatures eat, Alisia. They feed off life force and we needed a large supply to keep them satisfied," Commander Aurora tried convincing.

"So you sacrificed my crew?! How many more people must die for you to complete your unethical experiments!?"

"Please! Alisia, I had no intention on sending you down here! You were supposed to send a team down and remain on board the warship. Once you figured out they went missing, you would send another team, then, another! Until there were few left on the ship itself. Then, you were supposed to return to Atlantis, defeated," he continued.

"You murderer! You are the Commander of Atlantis whoʼs soul purpose is to protect us!" Furious, betrayed tears continued flowing down my face.

"Please, Alisia, you must understand."

"I understand plenty."

He glanced at my hands in a surprised puzzlement. He turned my palm upright and scrunched his face in anger. "Tirrian! What is happening to her? Sheʼs turning into one of them!"

"NOW you notice? Father! Can you not hear the difference in my voice?"

Commander Aurora ignored me and continued interrogating Tirrian with vexation. "What happened?"

"She brought one of the smaller shuttles down with a small away team. She left two at the shuttle and continued with the other five to search the forest. The escaped test subject attacked and killed the two men and quickly pursued Alisia and her team, snatching them one by one into the trees. It sucked their blood until there was none left for the heart to pump. It tackled poor Alisia to the ground and began the feeding process when a faceless savage sucked the life through Alisia and out of the insect leaving it a shriveled husk. Alisia fainted at the scene. The savage carried her unconscious body to its cave dwelling to rest where it left her to retrieve food. Alisia died inside shortly after its departure. That is when I dragged her body here. She was revived by this creature, and here we are."

"YOU WATCHED THE WHOLE THING HAPPEN?! AND DID NOTHING?! MY CREW IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" I roared. Commander Aurora took several steps back with a look of horror on his face. "FATHER!"

"Tirrian! You must find some way to cure her! We must take her back to Atlantis to get her medical treatment immediately!"

Tirrian took several steps backwards towards a table behind him. He grabbed a stun gun from the table and pointed it towards my father. "Iʼm afraid I canʼt let you do that. My work has come so far. Bringing her to Atlantis would expose me and I cannot be stopped now. We must all make sacrifices, Orion, and yours is now." Tirrian shot my father in the chest, stunning him until he fell limp to the floor. His breathing was staggered as he gazed up at Tirrian in disbelief. I roared as I ran over to my father, trying to find some way to help him. "I wonder..." Tirrian muttered behind me as he wrapped his arms around me, immobilizing me. I struggled, but to no avail. He took my right hand and forced it into my fatherʼs chest. My father wailed in pain as I experienced my first Wraith feeding. My eyes widened as the sensation flowed from my hand into my body. My body slowly gained strength. I closed my eyes, indulging in the delicacy of the experience. To my horror, I was enjoying the sensation. I couldnʼt describe what I was feeling.

It suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes instantly to see my father pale and lifeless. I yanked my hand off of him in terror. "Father...?" I whimpered, tears filling my eyes once again.

"Truly fascinating," Tirrian whispered with satisfaction in his voice. I scrunched my eyes with rage and broke through his grip. He stumbled backwards in surprise. I quickly stood up and faced him.

"WHAT DID I JUST DO?" I roared.

"You fed upon him. He is dead. Unfortunately, I must kill you as well," Tirrian said pulling out his gun. "You mustnʼt stop my work. I cannot be discovered. We are settling another planet this week. Iʼll graciously name it after you, Alisia. To honor your memory and bold sacrifice." He shot me, but to both of our surprise, I was still on my feet, unharmed. I started walking towards him. He shot again and again until I dropped to the floor, feeling my life fading away.

"YOU INSOLENT EXCUSE OF A BEING! SACRIFICING YOUR OWN KIND TO SAVE YOUR OWN SKIN! YOU DISGUST ME! VILE BETRAYER! MURDEROUS TYRANT! FOUL PLAYER OF ETHICS! DESTROYER OF INNOCENCE! MAY YOUR LAST BREATH BE TO A PAINFUL SUCTION OF MY PEOPLEʼS FEEDING! YOUR DEFIANCE WILL FOREVER RUN THROUGH OUR VEINS! A NEW REIGN IS BORN UPON YOUR ARROGANCE!" the woman shrieked at Tirrian.

"ENOUGH!" Tirrian roared as he pulled out a sword from his belt and began swinging it at the woman. She sent an ear splitting screech as his sword flew through her. Her cry stopped instantly as the sword cleanly decapitated her with a nauseous gash, knocking her body over in a disturbing pile.

I gasped as I continued sobbing. A burning fire ignited inside of me. My head began spinning, forcing me on my back, fighting for air. I grabbed my head, screaming intensely from my emotional, mental, and physical trauma. Tirrian walked over to me and gazed down at me. "Pity, you were so beautiful." He lifted his sword. I slowly outstretched one of my quaking hands towards Tirrian. A loud crash came from the neighboring room. Tirrianʼs attention went towards the entrance way that connected the two rooms to the hallway. "What? It cannot be! This building is completely cloaked!"

The same man who rescued me from the insect bolted through the doorway, catching Tirrianʼs swinging wrist with ease. The man growled, crushing Tirrianʼs wrist. He dropped the sword to the ground. He quickly pulled his small gun from his belt using his free hand and shot the man several times. This caused his escape as he dashed towards the Stargate. Three more men entered behind my rescuer as he stood up again, his wounds regenerating quickly into themselves, fully healed.

"You..." I mumbled, turning on my side as my vision blurred once again. The leader of the three men stepped over to the womanʼs dead body. He stared at her carcass in disbelief. He roared to the ceiling in a rage as the man I acknowledged quickly came to my side. He carefully picked my limp body off the ground. I rested my head against the manʼs chest. Gazing in the direction Tirrian hastily exited, I muttered, "Coward..."

I passed out once again in his arms.

"Luna? My Queen?" the manʼs voice came into focus as I lay on the cave floor. I came to, my mind focussing once again. I tasted blood in my mouth, realizing that I had bitten my lip during my time of unconsciousness. I ran my tongue along the edges of my teeth, feeling their elongated sharpness. I curled my eyebrows at the strange sensation.

"Where am I?" I asked shifting my stiff muscles.

"My Queen, you are safe once again." The man was sitting cross legged next to me, leaning close as to protect me from any harm that might befall me.

"Mnnn...what did you call me?" I moaned in exhaustion.

"I gave you a name in Wraith which means ʻangelʼ. Forgive my boldness, but that is how our Hive sees our new Queen."

"ʻAlisiaʼ does not work anymore? No matter, the name my father gave me lacks a purpose now...I am no longer a part of Atlantis. I am pronounced dead in their sight, nothing but a cover up."

"It would seem so."

"ʻAngelʼ? Your Hiveʼs new Queen? Iʼm truly flattered and humbled, but I am no royal highness."

"Our former Queen perished in the room where we recovered you. You are the obvious replacement." My eyes had remained closed the entire conversation. I rolled my head to the side, bumping against one of his hands. He placed his hand on the top of my head, sliding his palm across my hair.

"At least the...physical pain is gone." I opened my eyes as the tears began to form. I looked up at the man who continued to caress my hair. "Why do you wear that? I wish to see your face."

The man removed his hand and interlocked his fingers. "My Queen, I am an undistinguished Soldier Drone. One of many. My identity means nothing to the Queen. Do not burden yourself with such meaningless wonders," the man explained with frustration in his voice. His frustration wasnʼt towards me, but due to some ranking system I didnʼt know, he was faceless, nobody. Just a bulk of muscle in the Hive.

"This is my Hive now. You said so yourself. Please, what is your name?" I insisted, thoughtfully.

"You are fatigued from the trauma that the transformation is causing your body. You must rest," he avoided the question.

"Your name first," I smiled. He let out a sigh of defeat.

"Very well. My name is Zerrix."

"Zerrix? Thatʼs a very handsome name. What does it mean? Why not use it?"

"My name means 'guardian.' Our identities are kept secret from the Lanteans in order to prevent them from using our names against us. They are sacred, you see."

"Very understandable. I shall call you ʻWraithʼ then, which is what I thought your name was when you first brought me here, or at least until I find a more suitable title."

He shook his head with a small chuckle. "As you wish, my Queen, but that is not necessary. You are becoming a Wraith now and may use my proper designation. You must rest."

"Very well, then, Zerrix," I smiled again and closed my eyes. He placed his hand on my head and began caressing once again until I drifted into a deep sleep.

I awoke abruptly with my face and mind ablaze. "I THOUGHT THIS WAS OVER!" I shrieked, cupping my face in my hands. My cheeks and nose throbbed as if something unknown was growing just underneath the tissue. "WHATʼS HAPPENING TO ME?!"

"Your sensory organ is developing...and I feel your brain is also advancing to psychic levels." He yanked my body upright into his lap, wrapping his strong arms around my waist, trying to keep me steady. I arched my back with sheer torment, clutching the hem of his pants tightly, all the while stuttering half breathed screams. Setting the back of my head on one of his shoulders, a large force of energy bubbled inside of my Cerebral Cortex and began expanding exponentially. I inhaled quickly. The mass erupted, killing my brain, shutting down the rest of my body instantaneously. My body fell cold and limp once again.

Dead.

He roared, hoisting me into a cradle. He slowly pulled off his mask, being extremely cautious when guiding the connective tissues of the mask out of his slits that opened to his sensory organ on his face. He carefully placed the mask over my face. The interior of the mask reached for and formed around my facial contour, puncturing my skin through the underdeveloped sensory pits until it fit perfectly. He, then, gently placed his hand, palm down, onto my chest just below my collar bone. Softly he pressed his feeding organ into my skin. He poured life force back into my body. I breathed life once again, seeing everything with an extreme sharpness. My brain and conscious mind felt broadened, as if I could see everything around me without opening my eyes. My sense of smell heightened in a way I didnʼt recognize. I sensed everything around me crystal clear with more than just scents.

My attention went up towards Zerrixʼs face, which was concealed by his large hand. "Iʼm pleased to see that worked, but I must remove my face from you. I can barely sense, let alone see anything and am having difficulty breathing," he panted.

"Please, take it. I donʼt want you to be in discomfort," I granted. He removed the mask from my face with vigilance and slid it back on, taking in a deep breath. Once he removed it, I felt blood dripping from my nose. I wiped it away with the back of my hand as I realized that the newly developed sensory pits were also bleeding. I groaned from the soreness of my face and mind. I ripped part of the edge of my shirt to catch the drainage. "Tell me...how many times have I died?"

"I have revived you four times, three you were unaware due to you dying in your sleep. Your transformation has and will kill you until it is completed. Wraith do not come completely from human biology; therefore, the alien DNA overwhelming your body is overloading all your systems and taking over. The human part of you is dead or dying; whereas, the Wraith part of you is being born."

"That means Iʼve died five times already since that woman in the lab restored my life once..."

"You are physically drained and must rest."

"I donʼt want to die in my sleep again!"

"If that should happen, I will revive you. Please, my Queen, your transformation is almost complete. You need your strength for when it is over." I sighed, turning over in his arms, snuggling up next to him for warmth. The blood loss ceased as there was a brief moment of silence between us.

"Alright, but Iʼm distraught as to what Iʼm becoming, what I will do, who I will be..." I said in an almost whisper. "I donʼt even know who I am anymore. Not part of Atlantis, not part of your people fully. Who am I? What will become of me?"

"Time is all you need, my Queen. You will discover those things eventually, but for now, you must rest," he responded, graciously. Even though his words werenʼt profound, they comforted me. I shut my eyes and allowed my sore body and mind to relax.

My breathing was deep and smooth as I came out of my rem cycle. My heart was beating to its full health. I sat up and looked around, seeing, smelling, sensing, tasting the air with my new sensory, feeling the caveʼs wall with my mind with a sharpness that intrigued and amazed my entire being. No pain was felt, nothing. It was over.

I peered down at my hands, studying the same feeding slits in my palms as Zerrix had. I closed my eyes and felt my face. Every detail was there, so clearly: the sensory pits just under my eyes and next to my nose, the new shape my nostrils formed, my sharpened teeth, the smooth formation of my eyebrow and forehead structure. It was all there.

Carefully standing up, I saw Zerrix kneeling on the ground in front of me, his head in a bow. "My Queen, you are born."


	3. Chapter 2 - The Chosen One

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe (c)

Chapter Two

The Chosen One

Bring Me to Life

-"Bring Me to Life" by Thousand Foot Krutch

-"Fire It Up" by Thousand Foot Krutch inspired the fighting scene in the Arena

I cocked my head to one side as I leaned over in front of Zerrix, placing one hand on his shoulder. "Please, stand up."

He did as he was told and gazed through his mask down at me. He surpassed my height of five feet ten inches by eight inches easily. "Your Hive is eager to meet their new Queen."

I looked down, feeling his penetrating stare. I was surprised by my own inner emotions for this man. The man who had helped me many times during my painful and deadly transformation from Atlantean to Wraith. The man who saved my life countless times. This same man whoʼs face I had never even seen. I looked up at the mask that concealed his countenance, trying to find the exact place where his eyes would be. "If I may..." I uttered with great curiosity.

I reached up and placed both hands on the sides of his mask. He quickly grabbed my hands, which startled me. "Why are you so curious as to who I am? I am your humble servant. Queens do not bother themselves with such intrigue."

"I want to know the face of the man who rescued me time and time again from danger and even death. Will you not allow me that honor?" There was a pause between us as he thought about my question.

"Very well, my Queen," he surrendered with another defeated sigh. He let go of my hands and placed his behind his back with elegance. I continued to carefully pull off his concealing mask until it released his face. The mask secreted a clear slime that enhanced his breathing, sight, and other senses unique to Wraith. A thin layer of it covered his pale face as he struggled for air once the mask was removed. He appeared young, looking no older than twenty-five. His eyes were a bright lime green that had the same sharply elongated pupils that the Wraith queen had that I encountered back in Tirrianʼs lab. His jawline was strong with a soft square shape with an imperial soul patch that began at the bottom of mouth at his lower lip and lengthened down and off his chin in soft grey strands. He had the same Wraith characteristics that I had become familiar with present on his face: sharp shark-like teeth, sensory organ openings on his cheeks, sharpened nostril lines, high cheek bones, and the soft protruding triangular forehead structure over where his eyebrows would normally be.

I squinted my eyes and studied his physiognomy. He broke out in a sweat which added to the glossiness of his face due to his irregular breathing patterns. Clenching his teeth, he closed his eyes and scrunched his nose as he sat down slowly. Painfully light headed, he cupped his face in his hands. I stood there in awe, still holding his mask. His breathing was extremely heavy and staggered. "My Queen, please, my mask."

"The other men that were with you when you rescued me from Tirrianʼs lab werenʼt wearing masks. You look better without it," I quietly rebuttaled. I felt sheepish refusing his plea. "Must you wear it?"

"I always have since I was a young soldier." He hunched over into his lap, gasping for whatever air would allow him. I paused, trying to find the right words to ask.

"When was that?"

"Since the time I was placed in the category of Soldier Drone for this Hive."

"Oh, I see, but it is possible to breathe without one. And to see and sense? Am I right?" I asked slowly continuing to stare at him in concern. He exhaled in exasperation.

"Yes, but most uncomfortable to get used to when one has worn it for as long as I have."

I nibbled my bottom lip in hesitation. I sat down behind him, nervously wrapped my arms around his waist, held him tightly, and rested my body against his back. "Feel my breath," I inhaled deeply. "Feel me breathe in...now feel me breathe out," I exhaled slowly and repeated the process. "In...out."

He groaned in frustration. I continued breathing until his lungs matched my pattern. "There you are...that wasnʼt so hard. Itʼs the least I can do for all youʼve done for me," I whispered slowly.

"Thank you," he quietly cleared his throat, pulling my arms away from him. I stood up and walked around in front of him where I took my place on the ground. I began examining his face once again. The whole time he never looked me in the eyes.

He placed his fingertips together, rested his elbows on his knees, and gazed at theground in respect. Even though the aspects of his being were enough to be terrifying, he was very handsome. I never thought I would find myself attracted to an alien, but that didnʼt matter now. I was alienated as well. I tilted my head to one side and smiled.

"Look at me. Are you able to see?"

He blinked as he obediently looked up into my eyes. His facial expression hadnʼt

changed. It looked as though he was feeling uneasy. "Yes."

"What do I look like?"

He smirked, shook his head a little, and slightly bowed. "You are a very stunning Wraith, my Queen. You examined that fact yourself." He allowed himself to hold my gaze. "Was your question supposed to be rhetorical?"

I raised my now hairless eyebrows with a shy smile. "No, it wasnʼt rhetorical, but thank you. That was my point though. I am no goddess or extraordinary figure. Iʼm just like you. Please donʼt feel like you canʼt look me in the eyes and talk with me without your mask. You had that confidence before I removed it, please have it now."

"You are the Queen. It is out of respect-"

"You are my friend. I would feel disrespected if you didnʼt look me in the eye while speaking to me, and I, you. Iʼm not on some pedestal looking down on you."

He inclined his head slightly. "With all do respect, my Queen, you are the most eccentric Wraith, let alone Queen, I have ever encountered. Your views certainly are unique."

I smiled with a small giggle under my breath. "I suppose thatʼs the way I want it." The slimy substance on his face had cleared by now along with the sweat that dried away invisible. I averted my gaze and clumsily stood up, losing my balance. He caught me as he quickly came to his feet and brought me upright again. We both stood there in silence as I tried to ignore the fluttering of butterflies in my stomach. Shifting the mask nervously in my hands, I cleared my throat, "I request that you not wear this anymore. You donʼt need it having normality back in your breathing and sensing."

"I see. As you wish, my Queen, but I must warn you, Lord Narz will be quite displeased if he sees that Iʼm not wearing it."

"Lord Narz? Whoʼs Lord Narz? And why would he care? Iʼm the Queen right?"

He chuckled with a smile. "Narz, is the Lord of this Hive. He was Queen Breenaʼs First in Command. He was the founder of these masks and strictly enforced the use of them among those who were not ranked, which quickly became a trend to the other Hives as well."

"Queen Breena? Was that the woman who Tirrian slaughtered back there? And a Hive? You keep referring to this tribe I apparently rule over now as a Hive. What is it?"

"Yes, she was Queen Breena. She was the Queen of this Hive and Lord Narzʼs mate." I looked down with sadness at the information. I glanced back up with glassy eyes as he continued his explanation. "A Hive, my Queen, is a mass of Wraith that live in a central community. There is one female who rules over the mass, the Queen. She provides communication with the other Hives. Queens only communicate with other Queens, you see. She provides direction, order, and balance."

"Iʼm the only woman?" I scrunched my eyebrows in puzzlement. "How-?"

He smirked, capturing my hesitation, knowing what I was going to ask. "Yes, we are capable of younglings, my Queen, but they are rare. Most of the Wraith alive today developed from our tiny ancestors. They fed upon humans abundantly until the embryos of their young possessed human DNA. From there, my Queen, is where Wraith breathed life. It has been over fifty years since my birth, and almost one hundred years since the evolution began," he explained. "There is not enough food to go around, so we do not breed often."

"Oh, I see. Youʼve been alive for over fifty years?"

"Yes, is that not common for the Lanteans?"

"Of course, but-" I paused. "You look so young."

"Our food keeps us youthful. The only thing that seems to age in our bodies is our hair. My grayness will eventually turn white, which is common for males ofour race. However, when females feed, their body transmits the energy even to the of their hair, preserving the pigment pristine. Only few Queens have allowed their hair to age as well."

My eyes widened. He chuckled with a wide toothy grin. I looked down and smiled, feeling extremely ignorant.

His chuckling quickly ended as his attention went to the cave entrance. I felt the minds of two personages approaching. I turned towards the cave opening, only to find no one there. Within seconds, two men walked through the mouth of the cave. It was strange to me to know who was coming before they were even visible to the naked eye. These men were tall and lean. They werenʼt as tall as Zerrix, but shared a resemblance.

The first man looked older than Zerrix, about thirty, while the other looked no older than twenty-one. I knew this was not so due to the fact that the older one had white hair that was long and pulled back in a half ponytail, and the younger oneʼs dark brown dreadlocks were greying at the roots.

Zerrix bowed his head immediately, avoiding either of their gazes. I glanced from the elder to the younger. The elder man kept a stern, serious face with an intensely piercing gaze. The younger man inclined his head and smiled warmly. Of course, both men were Wraith.

The elder had lime green eyes with two knife-like winged tattoos that waved into jagged edges on one side, almost as if they were wings. The tattoo over his left eye was identical to the one found on Queen Breena's face. The tattoo on the right side of his face matched the left except that it separated with a round edge, not crossing over his right eye. He had a goatee that matched his hair in color and was neatly kept, lengthening off of his chin into a small braid. There was a cluster of hair that flowed down the right side of his face with a small band separating it into two sections. He wore black leather that resembled the carapace of the Iratus with four belts crossing his figure: one over his left shoulder, crossing over his chest to the right side of his waist and the three belts on his waist. His leather trench coat was long and reached down to his ankles with a propped up collar and shell-like, pointed layers that decorated his shoulders and sleeves. His slacks were black as well, along with his ornate shoes. In other words, he was the best dressed out of all three men. He looked familiar. Digging through my memories, I concluded that he was the man from Tirrian's lab who roared in moarning at the deathbed of Queen Breena.

The younger man had Tirrianʼs goggles on his head. He had done some kind of alteration on them that I couldnʼt quite make out. He had pushed the goggles to the top of his forehead as three short dreadlocked bangs hung underneath them and one longer strand of hair flopped over the goggles and the right side of his face. His eyes were also green like the elder and Zerrix. He also had facial hair. He had two thin beards that started at the corners of his mouth at the bottom of his lip and lengthened off his chin, hanging to mid-neck. His clothes resembled armor, but not nearly as heavy as Zerrixʼs nor as complicated. The grayish brown leather covered his black, sleeveless shirt and had bolts lining the top of the two horizontal sections. Two belts were wrapped around his waist as the brown leather continued into a waist coat. He had black leather cuffs on his forearms that covered them completely and came to a V on either end with the points facing outwards. His pants were a smoke colored leather with thick boots to match. I noticed he had tattoos on both of his arms on the biceps. The one on his left bicep looked like a simple design of reverse wings that were open. By the looks of them, they connected by a single line, wrapping itself around the back of his arm and connecting in the front again. The one on his right looked almost identical to the one on the left, except they didn't wrap around his arm. Instead, they broke off from each other into a point, one downwards, the other upwards. Glancing at them, I noticed a pattern of the same variations of the shapes on his cuffs, the elder Wraithʼs eye tattoos, the elderʼs leather shoulder embellishments, and also on Zerrixʼs cuffs.

"Hive pride, my Queen," Zerrix mumbled, reading my thoughts on the matter.

"So. This is Queen Luna," the elder man spoke. "I see that your metamorphosis has completed with success. I am Narz. Hive 25 is at your service now, seeing that you are our new Queen." He spoke with sternness with a barely detectable bite in his words. "This is LexʼZvas. He is our chief scientist and has already begun analyzing the many advanced technologies of the Lantean scientistʼs laboratory. He will give you a briefing on that as soon as he is finished." Narz paused as he glanced over at Zerrix who was still bowing his head. Narz turned towards him, tilted his head, and sauntered in front of him. "Why are you not wearing your face, brother?"

"Brother?" I blurted. Zerrix groaned as Narz ignored me.

"You know the penalty, younger brother. Hold out your hand, the dominant feeding hand," Narz continued with a face of austere. Zerrix hesitated but did as he was told, holding out his right hand in a fist, pursing his lips as he braced himself for what was coming. Narz placed his hand on the handle of the acquired sword from Tirrianʼs lab, slowly pulling it out from his belt. I gasped and placed myself between him and Zerrix just as he was raising it to make the slice.

"HOW DARE YOU!" I shrieked.

All three men gaped at me. Narz was the first to recover from the astonishment and stood with a bitter facial expression. "I was only enforcing one of our laws, Queen Luna. You wish to defile them? That would leave us with anarchy," he defended hotly.

"I asked him to remove it! It is not his fault!" I rebuttaled. He raised his eye ridge and pursed his lips.

"With all do respect, my Queen, he must return it to his face for ample sensing."

"I commanded he not wear it. Do you dare defy me?" I justified, feeling out of place. All three men stared at me in stupefaction.

Narz blinked as he tilted his head and bowed slightly, "Of course not, my Queen." He then, shot a barely noticeable glare at Zerrix. "Now, your Hive awaits you," he added, turning on his heels and exiting the cave, hotly. LexʼZvasʼ wide grin returned as he looked from Zerrix to me and back to Zerrix.

"Quite the eccentric Queen, eh brother?" he chuckled as he turned to leave as well. I took a deep breath, realizing that I had probably caused some kind of contention between Zerrix and his eldest brother. Zerrix softly groaned in his throat as he outstretched his hand towards the cave entrance, indicating for me to go first. I did so and followed LexʼZvas and Narz who were a considerable distance ahead of me.

I couldnʼt help but feel apprehensive as the foliage grew thick. I was going to lead this Hive, these Wraith, and was anxious with the thought of not knowing their form of government, their rules, their boundaries, their values. What was I getting myself into?

"How did he know my new name?" I asked Zerrix, almost whispering.

"We are connected psychically as a Hive. That is how we keep track of each other and communicate over long distances. I kept him updated on your progress," he replied, quietly. I pondered about that, feeling intrigued.

"And how long did it take exactly? To fully become Wraith, I mean."

"It was a rather slow process. I would estimate, close to three months. You spent most of the time unconscious or delusional," he said matter-of-factly. My mouth dropped agape. I almost couldn't believe it. I closed my mouth and shook my head slightly. This knowledge only worsened my uneasiness.

We spent the rest of the time in silence. After several miles of hiking, I felt the minds of at least thirty different beings. My apprehension grew. We came to a clearing where they awaited. They were all Wraith and most of them had the same masks on that I removed from Zerrix. There was another Wraith Queen standing upon some higher ground, almost like a pedestal at the head of the group. She stood there with commanding grace. Her attention went to me as I entered the clearing. I felt nervous, like a child who has to face their parent after disobeying them. LexʼZvas walked and stood next to a group of mask-less Wraith, while Zerrix paused behind me next to a line of Drone Soldiers. Narz kept leading me until I was standing next to the Wraith Queen. Her gaze was piercing. I couldnʼt look her in the eye. Her hair was long and wavy and it was peppered with white and black streaks beautifully. Her clothing was very similar to that of Narz, except with dark grey accents and a more feminine look. She also had a long cape draped behind her, majestically. Her skin was a very pale green which made her golden-yellow eyes more intense. She began slowly walking around me, examining my person. The Wraith congregation watched intensely. I finally broke the silence as she paused and took several steps away from me with her back towards me. "Is there something wrong?" I asked, nervously.

"I smell fear on you!" she snapped with arrogance.

"Do you not know what I have just been through?" I rebuttaled, taken aback.

"Your First in Command has made me aware of your time of incapacitation. His concerns regarding you are now realized to me. You have much to learn before you are fit to rule this Hive."

"With all do respect, but who gives you the right to judge me?" I questioned, feeling slight frustration. She turned and smirked.

"There may be some hope for you yet," she said matter-of-factly, looking out into the group until her eyes fell upon Zerrix. She scrunched her nose and muttered something in a language I did not understand. Zerrix bowed his head and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. She quickly turned towards me. "Why has this soldier removed his mask?!"

My eyes widened and I felt anger rise inside of me. "I commanded him to! Is that a crime? I have been informed that this is my Hive now, and I may do as I wish! In fact, all of you! Take off your masks! DO IT NOW!" I roared to the men. They hesitated, but obeyed. I breathed heavily as I watched them remove their masks and slowly get over the initial shock without them. Their breathing stabilized and all bowed their heads towards me. Feeling a sense of triumph, I turned and looked at the Queen.

She was smiling, smugly. Folding my arms, I kept her gaze, waiting for her next move. She continued smiling, approvingly.

"You will learn quickly the ways of the Wraith and how to be a proper Queen. I am the Queen of a neighboring Hive. I shall visit to give you instruction and to oversee your integration." She, then, hissed to the two Wraith behind her as she turned to make her exit. They bowed as she walked in between them and followed her into the foliage out of sight.

I turned and looked over at Narz. His look of disapproval was apparent. "I want to meet my Hive, individually." His eyes widened slightly as he pursed his lips.

"Of course, my Queen," he replied. There was a noticeable bitterness in his voice. He led me down to the men. "These are your scientists," he began introducing, acknowledging the four Wraith standing with LexʼZvas. They all bowed as he acknowledged them. I smiled and nodded my head. "These are your Hunters and Commanders," he motioned towards the five Wraith who led a line of four Wraith behind them. They also bowed. They had similar uniforms to the one he was wearing, except without so many belts. I assumed his belts marked his rank. "And the rest of them behind your Commanders are the Soldier Drones, which you have just clearly unmarked as such."

I turned to look at him. "If you have a problem with my authority and my decisions, please, make it known to me. I have decided this and my decision is final," I voiced in superiority. His face scrunched in disgust and anger. He bore his teeth and creased his eye ridges.

"If I may be so bold as to say that you are unfit to rule in Queen Breenaʼs stead. Your decisions are irrational and extreme. My only hopes are for the other queens to teach you how to properly lead this Hive before anarchy ensues. We are a small Hive compared to them, so if you make any more poor decisions we are easily overpowered. I am humiliated at your presence and your actions when the other Queen was here!"

I swung my hand and slapped the side of his face in irritation. He looked at me in great surprise, his eyes widened and his breathing quickened. "I am not Queen Breena, nor do I intend to replace her. I empathize with her loss. Try to comprehend that I have just lost my father and my people to the greed of one man. I will prove to you that I am fit for the honor of being your Queen." I held his gaze as he calmed himself. "I just need time."

The entire Hive was still and uneasy with the silence, anticipating what was going to happen next. Narz looked around and surrendered in exasperation. "Very well, my Queen." He took several steps back and put his hands behind his back. I held his gaze for a moment and then, turned towards the Commander of Zerrixʼs line.

"Commander."

"Sysra, my Queen," he introduced with a bow.

"Commander Sysra, you and your brigade will accompany me to the Atlantean facility where Queen Breena was killed. I wish to take a look around and shed some light on some questions I have."

"Of course, my Queen."

"LexʼZvas, you will join us," I added, turning towards him. He bowed with a mischievous smile. I turned back to Narz, "You will be in charge in my absence." He bowed his head. I motioned for Commander Sysra to take the lead. He bowed once again.

"The Queen takes her leave," Narz announced to the Hive. Each Wraith bowed their heads and parted, leaving an aisle for me to walk through. Commander Sysra took the lead towards the forest. I started walking once Zerrix had reached my side. His face had a flicker of satisfaction. Some kind of victory was won when I removed their masks. It was apparent to me, now, that he never enjoyed having them.

There was some time of silence while we were hiking. I had so many questions that I wanted answered. What happened to my crew? Were they still alive? What was the in depth history of the Wraith? Why was there discord between Zerrix and his brother, Narz? What other horrible things has Tirrian done? I needed to discover the truth.

LexʼZvas was walking next to me with Zerrix on the other side. "How are you three brothers? Your age differences are quite grand and you are nothing alike." LexʼZvas snickered. "We come from the same insect queen. She was one of the first to give birth to Wraith. Our elder brother, Narz, was the only one to live from her batch of eggs that season. The same for Zerrix and me with close to twenty years in difference between batches, for that's how long it takes the eggs to mature. Can you not see the resemblance, my Queen?" he asked, playfully.

"Yes, I do. You all share the same eyes and facial structure," I smiled. "Why were you the only survivors?"

"We were the strongest," Zerrix replied, smirking. I raised my eye ridges with mild surprise. It made sense.

"Our Hive is made up of the offspring of close to five different queens, Queen Breena being the only female out of them. Our small relatives are made up of hives, the queen leading them. It was only natural that we followed the same pattern," expounded LexʼZvas.

"I understand, but why the contention between you three if youʼre from the same mother queen?"

There was a pause between the both of them. LexʼZvasʼ grin widened. Zerrix rolled his eyes in irritation. "Narz is unforgiving. I am physically stronger than he is and larger in stature; therefore, he feels threatened," Zerrix expounded. That made sense too. "When Queen Breena chose him, he wanted to reduce me even further. He created the masks to make the others of similar size faceless as the back bulk of the Hive. That became trend to the other Hives."

"I didnʼt realize it was a contest."

They both smiled and chuckled to themselves. "We are male, Queen Luna," LexʼZvas commented satirically. I couldnʼt help but grin inside. That shouldʼve been obvious. The dominant male earns the right to be with the female.

"Then, why wasnʼt he threatened by you, LexʼZvas?" I asked sarcastically. Zerrix laughed quietly to himself. LexʼZvasʼ smile faded a bit, but he recovered quickly.

"I was too young for her." Zerrix laughed a little harder. I was glad the mood lightened, but only for a moment. LexʼZvas inhaled deeply through his nose. "I smell something." The others with us all drew in deep breaths.

"Heʼs right," Commander Sysra agreed in front of us. We all paused. "Protect the Queen!" Zerrix gently pushed me behind him. They all hunched over as if on the prowl. I couldnʼt help but do the same and follow closely as two other soldiers stayed close behind me. Commander Sysra carefully walked further ahead of us, taking care to not make any sound. Without warning, a giant explosion erupted in front of him, killing him instantly. We were knocked off our feet by the blast. I could hear Zerrix growl as he made his way to his feet again. The rest of us soon followed. Then, I heard some familiar gunfire. My eyes widened as I realized who it was. I quickly pushed my way past the men to place myself between our shooter.

"What are you doing?!" Zerrix hollered.

"Rivolliere! Donʼt shoot! Itʼs me, Alisia!" I yelled putting my arms up in front of me, trying to calm Rivolliere. He was completely drunk with adrenaline. The left half of his body was completely bandaged up.

"Is this an illusion?!" Rivolliere screamed back at me. "I was told you were dead!"

"Did Tirrian tell you that?"

"Yes, right before he released something in our life support systems and quickly left! Iʼve been in such blinding pain, I donʼt know what to believe anymore!" He was deranged and drenched in sweat.

"Put the gun down Rivolliere, weʼre here to help." He was breathing heavily, the gun shaking in his hands. I could tell he was thinking. He slowly lowered his gun and fell to his knees. I heard the Wraith behind me growling in their throats.

"Whatʼs happening to me?" he moaned. I slowly walked over to him and bent down in front of him. I peeled off the bandage from his face. I was shocked to see that the left half of his face had become Wraith. "Looks like he got to you all too."

I turned to look back at Zerrix and the others. They were alert but slowly walked up to us. "Where are the others?" I asked Rivolliere.

"In stasis cells inside the ship. We were all sick with an unknown disease and were dying, so I put them to sleep until we could get proper medical attention. Our communication systems have been damaged somehow and our ship's maneuvering systems are offline as well. We haven't been able to contact Atlantis."

I was disgusted with Tirrian. Zerrix quietly commented, "Looks like the Lantean spares no one." I agreed. He only brought them down here to experiment on them. Most likely after seeing what was happening to me.

"Is the base close?" I asked the group.

"Yes, just through the vegetation," Zerrix answered, pointing to our left.

"Let us see what we can find there," I mentioned, hoisting Rivolliere on his feet again. He regained his composure and nodded his head in thanks. It looked like his mutation was quiescent for the time being. We all made our way through the trees and bushes where a barely noticeable entrance was located. I lifted my hands up in front of me to see if there was any shielding present. Tirrian must not have returned, the shields were down and the cloak was disarmed.

We cautiously entered. Walking through the hallways, I noted many rooms that had dead Wraith inside. One in particular caught my attention, a room that had a deceased queen. She was on an autopsy bed, opened up, her organs exposed. By the looks of it, she had been dead for months. "This was a neighboring Hive. They went missing and were not heard from again," Zerrix commented, gazing down at the dead queen. He turned and walked over to a beautiful, ornate outfit draped over a nearby chair. He picked it up and turned towards me, "Take this, my Queen. Your Lantean attire no longer suits you. The other queens will take you more seriously with this as your garment. You will honor her by doing so." It was a black top with enlarged Iratus bug scales as sleeves with similar scales cascading down the back. There was a section of silver reptilian scales that began at the neckline and stretched down to mid-waist. Silver, circular studs of various sizes decorated the piece over the stomach and on either shoulder. It had a flowing, silver, cape-like fabric that began at the base of the back and extended to the ground. There were black leather pants and heeled shoes to match the style of the entire outfit. The final touches were the charcoal fingerless gauntlets that appeared to extend to mid-arm. There were slits in them over the palms that left the feeding organs exposed.

I hesitated, but took them from him slowly. "Very well. We will properly bury this Hive tonight. Find yourself a Commanderʼs uniform from one of the late. With the death of Commander Sysra, you will be the new commander of your brigade." He looked at me in surprise as I walked past him and out of the room. The rage and sorrow was unbearable as I contemplated the wickedness of Tirrian. How could one man go so far? I just wanted to be alone, to think. Finding Rivolliere again, I asked, "Where is the ship? I need to meditate."

"I will lead you there. Is everything alright, Captain?" he asked. I paused as I tried to gather my thoughts. Looking around, I could see Zerrix walking out of the queenʼs room with a face of foreboding. LexʼZvas, though striding through this graveyard of Wraith, was examining the computer systems with exhilaration. The other three soldiers with us kept roaming in and out of rooms, exploring the lab. "I told you this planet was cursed."

I forced a smile and shook my head. "The curse was Tirrian, Rivolliere. There is no mistake about that."

"What are we going to do? Shall we find some way to contact Atlantis in this facility? What will become of us-?"

"No! Atlantis sees us as dead, most likely to believe in Tirrianʼs deceptions. We must help these people. They are victims of his crimes."

Rivolliere stared at me in concern. "What shall we do then, Captain?"

I shook my head and sighed. "Iʼm still trying to figure that out. I just need a little time to assess our situation. Which way to the ship?"

"Very well, itʼs this way," he guided. I glanced at Zerrix who was passively waiting a little ways behind us, his acquired clothing draped over his arms. He turned his head to look at me, knowing that we were about to leave.

"Have the others return to the Hive and bring more men back to retrieve as many of the deceased as possible. We will honor them tonight with a burial. This is Rivolliere. He was under my command on the Atlantean ship that is somewhere on the planet. We are going there. You are to join us."

He bowed his head, "Of course, my Queen." Standing up straight again, he let out a loud echoing growl. The other Wraith immediately responded and began entering rooms and extracting the dead. LexʼZvas walked over to us in confusion.

"My Queen, I wish to join you on your quest to your ship. It will be most enlightening. With your permission, I will accompany you for observational purposes," LexʼZvas proposed. I nodded my head; he bowed with a crooked smile. I looked over at Rivolliere, who then, proceeded to lead us out of the lab.

We traveled only a short amount of time before we reached the ship. Rivolliere pulled a remote from out of his pocket and pressed a switch. The ship de-cloaked as the ramp lowered for us to enter. Zerrix and LexʼZvas marveled at the sight. Rivolliere smiled at their gawking as we made our entrance. The ship came alive as we walked through the corridors. It was so quiet and eerie that I shook from the icy chills running down my spine. I paused and took a deep breath. "I need some time alone. Rivolliere will answer any questions you might have and vice versa. Iʼll be in my quarters down this hallway."

The men all nodded in understanding. I quickly turned on my heels and glided to my personal chambers. Feeling the anxiety overwhelm me, I gasped for air as the tears began to run freely upon my entrance to the room. I allowed myself to fall to the floor and weep, feeling overcome by all that had happened. What was I to do? I was now over an entire group of Wraith, whose culture was still so alien to me, that were looking to me for guidance and order. My father was dead. Tirrian, the once love interest in my life, was a murderous, unethical, betraying liar to all things the people of Atlantis believed in. My crew was mutating into Wraith, which made me cringe thinking about what I had to endure to complete my own transformation. I was in distress.

Regaining my composure, I walked into my washroom and proceeded to wash my person. The heat from the water was soothing on my aching muscles. The steam helped stabilize my breathing as I inhaled deeply. I closed my eyes and let the water stream down my face. It unwound my uptight mind. Shutting the water off, I dried myself. Gazing down at the elegant attire the queen once wore, a fire ignited in me once again, knowing what I was to do. I carefully prepared myself, it was a perfect fit. I folded my Atlantean attire and placed it on my bed, leaving my Stargate necklace around my neck. I ran my fingers over it, therapeutically. Glancing in the mirror, I gasped in surprise. I examined my Wraith features slowly, my once curly hair lengthening linear, noting that my eyes were green and catlike just as Zerrix had said. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath through my nose. I was ready.

I opened my door and found Zerrix pacing slowly down the hall. His attention came to me as he made his way over to where I stood. I felt his gaze, but I didnʼt return the honor. He had changed into his Commanderʼs uniform, making his presence more subdued. There was silence as he put his arms behind his back with elegance, waiting for my command. I took in another deep breath and looked up at him. "We take our leave back to the Hive."

He bowed his head as I walked passed him. He turned and followed. We found Rivolliere and LexʼZvas on the bridge. They both stared as we entered the room. "The look suits you, my Queen," LexʼZvas commented as he examined my new attire. "If I may." He walked up to me and proceeded to pull out the silver studs and rearrange them in the pattern recognizable as our Hive, the winged shapes. "We will brand your uniform when we return, brother," he added to Zerrix.

I smiled at LexʼZvas, finding closure about being a part of the Hive. I walked over to Rivolliere who stood in attention. "You are to stay here and sleep until further instruction. I am certain that your greetings by the...Lord of the Hive, would be most unwelcoming. I will revive you all in time, but I need to ease the Hive into this. Thatʼs an order. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Captain," he replied, looking at me with concern. I inclined my head and lifted the corner of my mouth, trying to reassure him. "Take my remote locator." He handed me the same device that uncloaked the ship. "You will find us using this. Until we meet again, Captain."

My smile widened as I took the mechanism from him. I nodded my head once again and turned towards Zerrix and LexʼZvas. They parted with a bow, allowing me to walk in between them. We left the ship as the sun was setting, revealing the three moons in orbit around the planet. With the flicker of a button, the ship was cloaked once again.

As we reached the clearing where the Hive gathered itself earlier, Narz approached us. He walked up to me, examined my new attire in approval, and bowed. "We did as you commanded, my Queen. The deceased Hive has been retrieved," he reported. He caught a glimpse of Zerrix in his new uniform and let out an exasperating groan. He looked back at me. "I heard of Commander Sysraʼs death and how his body was in such carnage making revival impossible. My brother will need to go through much scrutiny before I can rank him as the commander of his brigade."

I furled my eyeridges. "Is that not for me to decide?" I questioned.

"I will do it, my Queen," Zerrix interrupted. He walked up next to me and leered at Narz. I gazed up at him in surprise, but he held his ground. Narz cocked his head and gave a crooked smile. They both looked at me and waited for my response.

"Very well, but after the burial of the Hive," I sighed. "Where are my men?"

"You must call them telepathically. We will teach you to connect with us and our minds," Narz explained. My eyes widened, not knowing how to do that. He sneered. "It is not hard, my Queen." I scrunched my nose in frustration. "Focus on the minds you met."

I closed my eyes and tried to remember the feeling of their presence from before. After a moment, I suddenly felt transported into a colony of thoughts and aura. Even with my eyes closed, I could see Narz in front of me and Zerrix next to me. Narz voiced clairvoyantly, "We are listening; you must gather your Hive."

I felt and saw all of the Wraith I had seen earlier, turn their heads as if they heard him. I thought the word, "Come," it echoed in my mind. Immediately, all the Wraith began to move towards us. I saw them enter the clearing and gather around us. I gasped as I disconnected my mind when my eyes opened again.

"Well done, my Queen," Narz smirked. There was a silence as I felt all eyes on me. Narz cocked his head to the side once again. "Well? We are waiting, my Queen," he taunted. I pursed my lips.

"Do you have a traditional way to honor the dead?" I inquired. He inclined his head, smiled in a mocking manner, placed his arms behind his back, and kept my gaze. My vexation grew and he could tell. He lowered his head and gave an echoing growl. All of the men surrounding us began to move and make preparations for the ceremony. I just stood there in my irritation. He inclined his head once again and turned to walk away.

"He was teasing you, my Queen," Zerrix commented under his breath. I glanced up at him disapprovingly. Zerrix smiled. "It is just his nature." I rolled my eyes and folded my arms. He chuckled to himself.

After some time had passed, we gathered once again in a separate clearing. The bodies had been placed in a deep trench. We surrounded the mass grave, Narz at my side and Zerrix at the head of his brigade on the other. All eyes gazed at the ground. A chilling silence engulfed us. I glanced over at Narz who closed his eyes. He raised his head towards the heavens, flexed his hands, took a deep breath, and let out a roar. The other men soon followed. I stared at the group, feeling out of place and uncomfortable. The uproar silenced once again as Narz knelt on the ground. He grabbed some dried weeds and struck them with some flint. Sparks flew and a fire started. He tossed the flames onto the bodies, setting them ablaze. We continued our watch; the flames stayed localized. I examined each of the faces of my Hive as the flickering of the flames lit them up with dazzling shadows. Each one was so unique and strong. Sadness was prevalent in their daze. They looked as though their hope was dwindling. I wanted to change that.

Narz turned towards me and broke my train of thought, "I have notified the neighboring Hives of my brother's exam. They have agreed to come and help as well as provide ample observation. The other queens will aid you in making proper judgments as he performs."

"You just don't waste time do you? And just what is it that he has to do?" I questioned, feeling annoyed that he thought me incapable once again.

"Not die, of course," he tilted his head to the side and responded, matter-of-factly. His smug smile widened as I stood there, flabbergasted.

"You intend to kill him?"

He laughed at my ignorance. Zerrix took a few more steps closer to me and explained, "The success is not having to be revived. If I simply survive, I will have proven myself the strongest and worthy to lead a group of soldiers. If I do not, then, another will be put to the same test until one rises to victory. If I am killed, I will be revived."

Sighing in exasperation, I could only imagine what he would have to endure. I shuttered at the thought that he could die, still not used to the fact that Wraith could pour life back into someone. "If you would follow me, my Queen, the other queens and their hives are ready and waiting," Narz motioned.

"Very well," I sighed once again. He led the way as the rest of the Hive followed behind. Hiking some distance, there was a buzz of different thoughts that I could hear with my newfound psyche. There must have been over two hundred Wraith in attendance. We came to the largest clearing I had seen thus far. It was built up extremely high with rocks and dirt to resemble a stadium of sorts. The same red muscle grew all along the walls and floor that I had seen in the cave Zerrix kept watch over me. There were large trees that had grown overhead with their branches intertwining and locking together to create an organic roofing. The muscle had grown up and around the branches as well. I hadn't noticed that the dawn was approaching. I didn't feel fatigued at all. The sun rose as we walked through the stadium's ground towards the center where three queens were waiting, the rays of the sun beaming through the cracks of the ceiling. The queen I had met yesterday was standing in the middle.

The queen to her right was very slender with the darkest hue of green skin I had seen thus far on a Wraith. Her veins were visible in a darker shade of the green as her pale green cat eyes watched me with a piercing gaze. The dark violet eye shadow and lipstick she wore only enhanced her being with a more daunting presence. She had a black tattoo on her right cheek near her jaw line that appeared like a very ornate reverse "S" with a small, clawed half star shooting out of the top. Her hair was black and had been pulled up and out of her face through a black leather tiara that had the Iratus scales as decoration. She also had small braids throughout her hair as it cascaded beautifully behind her. Her black corset was tight and resembled that of the Iratus carapace as well, with long, fingerless gauntlets to match, the one on her right arm breaking in two separate sections. The top of the corset wrapped itself up her collar bone and around her neck, almost like a necklace, leaving her shoulders bare. Her skirt-like cape was similar to mine except it was a simple yet elegant black fabric that reached down to her ankles, with a slit starting at the waist, revealing her textured black leather pants with pointed boots to complete her look. She gave me a once look over and continued to look at me with a face of disapproval.

The queen on the left was the thinnest out of all of them. Her goldenrod eyes beamed maliciously as she smirked slyly. Her hair was long and a deep red in color that was pulled back in a half ponytail with two smaller ponytails framing her face. Her skin was extremely pale which made her red lips even brighter. She had very pale violet veins showing through her skin. Her dress was plain yet beautiful. It was white and fitted her body with ease. The large long sleeves did not rest on her shoulders but draped over mid arm. The dress itself was floor length with simple white shoes that were barely noticeable underneath. She wrapped her arms around themselves as she inclined her head slightly.

"Queen Luna, welcome to the Arena. It is our pleasure to finally meet you. I did not believe the gossipping thoughts that were whispering in the air," the red headed queen in white began. "This is Queen Taina. You wear her sister's clothing well. You may call me the Keeper and may refer to her as the Primary. I doubt you would be able to utter our designations properly anyway," she continued as way of introduction. The darkest green queen on the far right referred to as Queen Taina continued to glare at me, and now I understood why. Her sister was the dead queen in Tirrian's lab that we had buried not hours before, and I wore her attire. I scrunched my eyes a little wondering what the titles of "Keeper" and "Primary" meant as she pointed to the queen I met yesterday and herself.

"Where is the soldier who will be tested?" the Primary announced. Zerrix stepped out of the crowd, making his way on the other side of Narz. I glanced over at him; he was completely calm. I admired that for I must have taken all of his apprehension upon myself. "Remove your jacket and shirt. You must perform exposed."

Zerrix obediently unhinged the two belts he had around his waist; removed the long jacket; and finally his shirt, tossing them to the side of the Arena. This revealed his very strong torso, shoulders, and arms. I couldn't help but stare. Shaking my head out of my awe, I was caught off guard by Narz's odd stare. He was looking at me as if I had said something confusing. I raised my eye ridges and turned my head to face the queens again. Narz gave a small growl of annoyance in his throat. The Primary grinned slightly as did the other two queens. I felt perplexed as to what they were all smiling at. She cleared her throat. "Let us begin. Queen Luna, follow us to the upper level. The rest of you, into position!" she commanded.

I stepped forward as my Hive stayed behind. They made their way to the edges of the Arena and climbed the walls with ease, joining the other Wraith in these stadium-like seating. We climbed up a flight of organic stairs to a room that was overlooking the entire Arena. We walked up to the opening. Zerrix was alone in the middle of the floorfloor. He interlocked his fingers and slowly pushed his palms towards the ground, closing his eyes, and exhaling deeply through his nose. I was distracted by the Keeper standing next to me. "You must learn to not be so obvious with your emotions, Queen Luna," she said passively. "Your Lord does not seem very pleased."

I squinted my eyes. "I'm not sure what you mean. You seem open with yours," I rebuttled. She laughed.

"That is not what she means. Keep your pheromone levels under control," Queen Taina commented, bluntly. I widened my eyes in great surprise, feeling a little perturbed.

"She is still quite young, my sisters. She will learn. She is under my supervision. Besides, Lord Narz needs to be humbled. His pride and boldness are growing, and I do not approve of it," the Primary remarked. I looked at her in bewilderment. Queen Taina rolled her eyes in disgust.

The Primary inclined her head towards the Arena and announced, "Begin the first wave!"

We all turned to watch as a Wraith climbed the wall to the ceiling. He launched himself towards Zerrix with his hands flexed in front of him. Zerrix opened his eyes and lunged backwards, grabbed the other Wraith by the neck with his left hand, and shoved him to the ground. The other Wraith coughed with the breath knocked out of him. Zerrix, then, dug his right palm into the Wraith's chest and roared. The other Wraith cringed as he slowly aged. Zerrix left him, barely alive, on the ground and stood upright again. I watched, dumbfounded.

There was an uproar from the audience as another Wraith from the audience tried to tackle Zerrix from behind. He jolted to his left and uppercutted him with little effort, turning his back towards us. The other Wraith fell over backwards, unconscious. Zerrix had a large black tattoo of what he called "Hive Pride" on his back, the open wings that spread diagonally from his right shoulder blade down to left side of his waist with what looked like small flames decorating the centers of each of them. I gasped as a flash of memories came into my mind from when I was ten years old, present on this very planet, observing the third settlement take place. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? Was this the man who gave me terror so many years ago?

I watched, feeling slightly horrified as he easily disabled five more Wraith. The Primary roared, silencing the crowd. Zerrix turned towards us and bowed his head. "What is the matter, Queen Luna?" the Keeper asked. I jumped, startled by the sudden break of silence. "Fear shows weakness."

I groaned loudly in frustration. All the Wraith looked up at us in confusion. The Keeper stared at me in slight concern. I turned and stormed off to the stairs. When I reached the bottom, I exited through the opening at the base of them, wanting to be alone again. I could hear the rumbling of thoughts still going on in the Arena as I continued to walk some distance away, far enough that they eventually faded. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

I jumped as I heard footsteps behind me. Turning, I found Narz there. "VAI VIA!" I roared. He took several steps back, disillusioned. I realized I was yelling in Atlantean. Closing my eyes, I shook my head slightly in my irritation. "Leave! And tell your brother, Zerrix, to come and have an audience with me!"

He did as he was told, pursing his lips. I watched as he left and walked the distance until he was back inside. After a short amount of time, Zerrix came out of the Arena and jogged over to me. "What can I do for you, my Queen?" Zerrix asked, graciously.

"Era tu! So che era tu! Tu in memoria teneo. Estne mea verba verit?" I began blurting quickly in Atlantean again.

Zerrix placed his hands in front of him in defense. "Forgive me, my Queen, but I do not understand the language you are speaking. If I have displeased you with my performance..." he paused.

I closed my mouth and looked at him. He was staring at me in utmost alienation. I was distracted once again by his strong torso. "TURN AROUND!" I roared. He looked around even more confused and did as he was told until his back was towards me. His tattoo brought back my memories. "NO! Don't!"

He turned to look at me, this time with concern on his face. "I'LL just turn around!" I growled.

"My Queen, you are acting very oddly. Have I done something to displease you?" he repeated himself.

I turned away from him and sighed, feeling like I could think again. "It was you, was it not? You were the man in the open field that was hunting me. Am I wrong?"

There was another pause. I heard him exhale as he was thinking. "I am unsure as to what you are referring to."

I sighed again, turning to look at him; maybe it wasn't him. "Sixteen years ago, I came here with my parents and several others to plant the seeds of a new generation of people that would inhabit this planet. I was distracted by some movement in the greenery. I followed it until it brought me to an open field. There was a man standing there with his back towards me, who had a tattoo identical to yours on his back. Apparitions began racing around me. I was frightened. The man roared at me to run away and I did. I found my parents once again, unharmed."

His eyes looked around as he thought about what I was telling him. There was a sudden realization on his face. This confirmed my fears; he was the man from so long ago. "I do recall this…" he trailed off as he furled his eye ridges.

"Why were you hunting me?"

"I was hungry…" he began slowly, trying not to upset me. "And I was disobeying my brother. I had removed my mask and was away from the Hive, out of range of their thoughts. I wanted to feel some freedom, to taste the air that was away from his oppression."

I took several steps away from him. I felt betrayed that I was being hunted so long ago, but then I felt foolish because he didn't know it was me. He had no idea who I was back then; he was merely following his instincts. I scrunched my eyes together tightly and shook my head again. "Why did you let me live then?"

He held his breath for a moment and then, exhaled. "Would you believe me if I said a voice told me not to?" I opened my eyes and looked at him again. Opening my mouth, I closed it again without saying anything. He shook his head and broke my gaze. He looked off into the distance. "I was obedient to this voice for it was unlike any of the queens I have heard. I also did not want to be discovered out of the boundaries of my Hive. I would have been severely punished for doing so…" he paused. He took a few steps closer to me until he was right in front of me. I folded my arms and looked away, feeling uncomfortable. He gently picked up some of my hair and ran his fingers through it. I gasped as my heart rate began to increase with the rush of adrenaline flowing in my veins. "That was a long time ago. I now find it interesting how fate has crossed our paths again on a more allied course."

He carefully released my hair and placed his hands behind his back. I couldn't help but shake slightly out of fear. It was easy to hear the unsteadiness in my breathing. He tilted his head to the side, trying to catch my gaze. I averted my eyes and closed them, letting my terror continue to grow. The monster of my childhood nightmares was so close to me.

He placed one of his large hands on the side of my face. I jumped, blinking rapidly with my erratic breathing ever increasing as he delicately brought my face to look at him. Letting my tears of panic roll out of my eyes, I gazed up at him. His facial expression was that of burdened melancholy. "You are afraid of me; I can smell it. I assure you, I would never harm you, my Queen. My name says it all. That is why I watched over you during your metamorphosis. I am the protector, the guardian. That is why my brother gave me the task. As Wraith, we do anything for our queen. She is everything. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head almost robotically as he wiped my tears with his thumb. "You need not fear me. Fear shows weakness-"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I questioned, feeling infuriated.

"It is a principle we live on. Any form of weakness is terminated." My eyes widened as I frowned.

"Then, I'm good as dead!" I blurted. Zerrix chuckled softly in his throat with a soft reassuring smile.

"On the contrary, my Queen. I have seen and sensed greatness and courage in you. Now is not the time to speak of this. You must show the other queens, especially our Primary, that you can lead us. This test was not just for me...my brother, in his cunningness, plotted to put you to the test as well. Do not crumble now. Your Hive believes in you."

"Narz does not seem to…"

"He will in time. Time is all you need, my Queen. As Wraith, we have plenty of time. We are a patient race."

I took a deep breath and exhaled, calming myself. Zerrix wiped away one more tear from my face and removed his hand, placing it behind his back again.

"Gratias…" I paused. "...I mean, thanks." He took several steps back away from me and inclined his head with a smirk. "Who was the voice you heard so many years ago?"

"Now is not the time for reminiscence, my Queen. We must return."

"Right," I breathed, wiping away the rest of the wetness from my face. "Let us go." He bowed his head as I took the lead. He followed me back to the Arena where he took his place center stage once again. I climbed the stairs to join the other queens.

I could feel their piercing gazes. Avoiding them, I walked right up next to the window. Searching, I found Narz in the crowd. He had every definition of anger present on his face as he watched his brother in the middle of the Arena. "Shall we continue, Queen Luna?" The Primary asked with a complacent smile on her face. I inhaled deeply through my nose and looked back at her. She outstretched her hand towards the opening, signalling for me to continue the test.

I cleared my throat and folded my arms. "Our brief intermission is over! Let us continue!" I announced to the Arena. Zerrix placed his palms together and popped his knuckles loudly. He glanced up at me and smirked wickedly. The other queens joined me on either side.

A rush of fifteen Wraith charged at Zerrix at all different angles. My eyes widened and a smile slowly spread across my face as he quickly moved and shattered the offense of each and every one of them. The uproar started once again. "He is performing highly, Queen Luna," the Keeper commented on my left.

"Is that your hive?" I asked her. She turned to look at me.

"Indeed it is, a few of them."

Turning my head, I raised an eye ridge. "Is that all you've got?"

Her eye ridges twitched at my question. I had caught her off guard. She grinned widely and squinted her eyes, laughing in her throat. Leaning over the ledge of the window, she flexed her hands to her side. She inhaled and roared loudly. The clamor grew more intense. Zerrix began laughing loudly out of sheer pleasure as what seemed like her entire Hive of fifty plus Wraith made their way towards him, encircling him in their mass. My eyes widened. I kept myself calm as I watched. They paused, waiting for him to make a move. He slowly circled on his feet, searching for the weakest point. His gaze went from one face to another until he settled on a Wraith commander whose hair was a light brown. He must have been a lot younger than the rest of them with less experience. He roared as he charged at Zerrix. Zerrix picked him up by the collars of his jacket and launched him into the group, knocking down a large portion of them.

They rushed him to the ground and piled over him. We all watched, I in apprehension. The Keeper laughed to herself. "Not as strong as you thought."

I growled in my throat in disquiet. "COME ON!" I hollered. The Keeper kept laughing to herself. Her amusement ceased as we heard a low growl from underneath the mass of Wraith. The smile on her face faded quickly. Suddenly, Zerrix hurled the ones on top of him off with a loud roar. They rebounded and tried tackling him again. He quickly squatted to the ground, flinging his arms at his side as he jumped to the ceiling. It surprised me that he could jump that high. He grabbed onto the intertwined branches, his body dangling. A Wraith jumped and grabbed onto one of his legs. He dug his claws into his flesh. Zerrix flinched at the pain but quickly kicked the Wraith in the face, knocking him unconscious. The Wraith promptly let go of him and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Zerrix hoisted his body upwards, using his strong biceps, until he could wrap his legs around the branches. He hung upside down as more Wraith crawled their way up the wall and ceiling towards him. He jabbed and punched so quickly that I could hardly believe it. Aiming for their faces, heads, and necks, he immobilized them quickly, knocking them to the ground again. Another Wraith jumped from underneath him and grabbed onto his long, dangling hair. Zerrix roared in pain. They struggled, the other Wraith swinging his body in attempts to knock Zerrix off the ceiling. Zerrix grabbed his own hair and heaved the other Wraith closer to him. The other Wraith grabbed onto Zerrix's shoulders and dug his claws into him. Zerrix growled again, shaking slightly. He jolted his torso towards the ceiling and grabbed hold of the branches with his hands. The other Wraith pulled himself up and wrapped one of his arms around Zerrix's neck, choking him. Zerrix coughed and clutched onto his adversary's arm. The other Wraith growled and laughed maliciously, tightening his hold. Wrapping the arm that was attached to the ceiling more firmly around the branches, Zerrix released his legs so both of them swung downwards. He curled his legs towards himself and rapidly kicked both feet at the other Wraith's torso as part of the whiplash of their swing. This knocked the other Wraith off of him and sent him flying to the ground. The power of the thrust made Zerrix lose his grip on the ceiling and land on the ground on his stomach. He groaned as he gasped for air. Rolling onto his side, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The other Wraith had recovered from the fall and charged at Zerrix in a rage. Zerrix quickly rolled onto his back and curled his legs up close to his face where he placed his hands behind his head, palm down on the ground. Hoisting his body upwards, he kicked the other Wraith once again, this time in the chest. Using the momentum, he landed on his feet. The other Wraith hit the floor on his back. Zerrix quickly walked over to him, kneeled, and punched the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

The Primary roared and the audience went silent once again. Zerrix stood up straight towards us and wiped away the blood dripping from his mouth with the back of his hand. He bowed his head, breathing heavily. The Keeper brought her hands up and slowly clapped with a smirk on her face. "Well done, soldier. Well done." She folded her arms and looked at me. "He has just disabled the majority of my Hunters and Commanders, including my First in Command as the final fall…" She leaned in close to me and muttered, "He would do well in a higher position than just the Commander of some Drones…" She glanced in the direction of Narz and smiled slyly. "I'd reconsider your First...if I were you."

I looked at her in surprise. She backed away and inclined her head. Turning away, I glanced down at Zerrix once again. His body was bruised, cut up, and bleeding; yet, he continued to amaze me as he stood there, calmly. My mind wandered, thinking about demoting Narz. I was positive that Narz would probably kill something if that were to happen. The thought amused me, imagining his face when I were to tell him the news.

"You have performed well, soldier. We have seen enough. You have taken down most of the Keeper's Hive and a few of Queen Taina's and my own. Your queen has seen enough to make a proper judgement," the Primary began. She turned towards me and nudged me forward.

Clearing my throat, I folded my arms once again. "I have never seen anyone fight as boldly and precisely as you have shown us. You fought rapidly and fiercely. The cleverness in your strategies has proven worthy of a new position amongst your Hive and brothers," I paused and smiled shrewdly. "You will be my new First in Command."


	4. Chapter 3 - E for Extinction

**WRITER'S NOTE: So, I've decided I need to shorten my chapters just a tad. They seem to be very long...I have so many ideas that I want to cram in, but too much is not great. *sigh* SOOOOOO, I'll just have to separate my ideas into shorter segments so as not to bore you with lengthy chapters. Starting with this chapter, they will be shorter from now on. Hopefully, they're still just as enjoyable! Thanks! :D

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe (C) 2014

Chapter Three

E for Extinction

-"E for Extinction" by Thousand Foot Krutch - this song heavily influenced the dialogue between Zerrix and Narz during their confrontation

-"Family System" by Chevelle - the feel of this song inspired the angry vibes between the brothers

-"Forfeit" by Chevelle - the role this song played while writing was between Narz and Queen Luna/Narz and Zerrix

-"Be Somebody" by Thousand Foot Krutch - this song is actually just the starting of revealing Zerrix's character. It will continue to influence me in upcoming chapters as well.

Zerrix quickly looked up at me, his face showed utter and complete shock. "Wise choice, Queen Luna," the Keeper commented in approval.

"Well done. I would have chosen the same. You need the best in your upper ranks, the ones that you can trust," began the Primary. "Eliminate the ones that try to stand in your way." I turned to look at her, feeling slightly puzzled. Her face showed complete seriousness which made me feel uneasy.

Queen Taina began leaving towards the stairs. I quickly made my way over to her and cut her off. She paused and exhaled in anger. "I'm sorry about your sister and her hive. I-"

"My sister was a great asset to this quarter of the planet. Do not think that just because you wear her clothing, you can waltz in here and take her place. Queen Breena was foolish, naive, and reckless, and you reek of the same insecurities. There are other queens and hives who would shred your overly emotional being to the ground. Your hive may possess one of the strongest warriors, but the lack of numbers proves pointless in comparison. You must prove to me that you are indeed a true Wraith Queen worth taking seriously and must earn your place here. In the meantime, stay out of my way," she interrupted, coldly. She shoved me out of the way and walked down the stairs.

I stood there, feeling my anger rise. "Are all of you that intense?" I asked the two queens behind me.

"Queen Luna, you must understand what we have been through. We are prideful creatures that demand the respect from our followers. We must be strong or else we are not worthy to lead our hives. Queen Taina is wroth because her sister had a moment of weakness which ultimately annihilated her entire hive along with herself. Food is scarce, and we can't afford any mistakes," the Keeper explained. I shook my head and turned to look at them. The tension in the air was apparent, almost touchable.

"Why am I the weak one? I have been through many things recently as well!"

"You weren't always Wraith. Even now, there is a hint of something different in the way that you smell," the Primary added.

I furled my eye ridges in frustration. "What is it that I must do to end these pointless judgments? I have literally died many times becoming a Wraith! I look like you, sound like you, and even have begun embracing your culture despite the last twenty-six years of my life!"

"Queen Taina was correct in saying that you are overly attached to your old ways," she continued.

"Oh, is that what she meant? I was too busy being insulted after merely trying to offer my empathy!"

"But that is just the point! We don't want your pity!"

I palmed my face, trying to keep my composure. "What is it that you want?"

"Retribution, Queen Luna!" she raised her voice to an almost growl. I saw the men's attention from the audience go to us again. She hissed at them as her face scrunched up with anger. The men turned away and started conversing amongst themselves once again. "We want retribution. If you can help us fight back against the Lantean terrorist that has been taking our people and using them as scientific experiments for his own pleasure, then, we'll begin to see you with different eyes. If you cannot, then, you're just another hand we cannot afford to feed," she spat. I stood there, feeling more enraged. "Consider this lesson one. I will visit you on a different day for more...instruction. Now, take your hive and leave!"

"Addio, madame. Gratias para suo tiempo," I said in Atlantean after some time of silence, thanking her for her time with emptiness in my goodbye. I allowed myself to hold her icy gaze for a moment longer. I quickly turned on my heels and stormed down the stairs.

When I reached the bottom, I found Narz waiting. He stepped in front of me, blocking my exit. "Get out of my way!" I commanded, coldly.

He leaned in close to me and picked up some of my hair, the same area where Zerrix had touched. Bringing it up to his face, he closed his eyes and inhaled the aroma. "I do not think so, my Queen," he said in a ridiculed manner. He swung his fist too fast for me to react. The side of my head took the blow. My eyes went dark as I hit the ground, unconscious.

The splitting headache woke me. I groaned, rubbing my face as my vision cleared. Peering around, I tried to figure out where I was, not recognizing my surroundings. The white and black striped bark of the trees mocked me with their silence. I slowly stood up and backed myself next to the base of a large tree. The breeze in the treetops was eerie as the leaves danced back and forth. The forest felt my nervousness as the coldness seeped into my body. Chills ran down my spine as goosebumps rose on my arms. The only comfort I found was from the heat of the sun rays that beamed through the branches up above. "Narz?!" I hollered.

I heard him laughing maliciously from somewhere above me. I searched the treetops in frustration. The bark easily camouflaged him. Much to my dismay, apparitions began appearing all around me. I gasped as they reminded me of when I was young. My body began to shake in anger as these unpleasant memories flooded my being. I darted my head from side to side, trying to find the origin of the ghost like visions. My adrenaline began to pulse through me once again. I could hear his laughter get closer. "Show yourself you coward!"

"No need for harsh words, Alisia Aurora of Atlantis," Narz commented from somewhere behind me. I jolted around and slowly searched the circumference of the tree, only to find nothing. Another ghost rushed towards me. I gasped and backed away. Holding my breath, I tried to be as quiet as possible.

"What did you just call me?" I questioned, listening for any clue as to where he was. There was a soft thud on the ground behind me. I spun around not fast enough. He shoved me against the tree. I groaned as my head smacked against the bark. Before I could recover, he was right in front of me; I could feel his breath against my face. His wicked grin was wide, revealing his sharp teeth. "So, is this how you treated Breena? Huh? Is this how you became her First in Command? Out of abuse and fear?" I questioned with venom in my words. His eyes filled with rage as he grabbed my body, yanked me towards him, and slammed me back against the tree. I scrunched my face in pain.

"How dare you utter her name to me! You are not worthy!" He shook my body violently. I coughed when he let go, feeling my head spin slightly. Seeing my chance, I swung my fist at him. He caught my wrist with ease. "Alisia...Alisia...Alisia," he exhaled, shaking his head. "Let's not be naughty."

He stood on my feet with both of his and pressed his body against mine. Grabbing my other arm, he yanked them both hard over my head, crushing them. I couldn't move even if I tried. It was a struggle even to breathe.

"I see I hit your soft spot. Do you want to know what the other queens thought of your precious Breena?" I taunted. He growled loudly in his throat, bearing his teeth. "They said she was foolish, naive, and weak!"

He held both of my wrists with one of his big hands. Using his free hand, he dug his claws into my side, piercing the skin and muscle tissue. I yelped from the pain. "She was twice the queen than they'll ever be! She should have been the Primary!"

I lathered up a mix of saliva and blood in my mouth and spat it at his face. He flinched and shook his head slightly. Slowly gathering some of my attire, he brought it up to his face and wiped off the slime. He chuckled with a crazed look in his eyes. "I guess we will have to play a little dirty. You know, I tried to embrace you as my Queen these past couple of days. I even visited you during your transformation. You were too out of it to remember, but I was there. Yet, the more I saw you, the more I was disgusted with you. Your Lantean ways are tainting this Hive. I've seen the way you look at my pitiful younger brother-"

I scrunched my eyes together and clenched my teeth as I rammed my head against his, hitting his nose with a crack against my forehead. He roared as he stumbled backwards. My head throbbed as I shook the dizziness away. I glanced over at him, his nose and mouth cupped in his hands.

Knowing he could overpower me again, I decided to run. I panicked as I looked down at my stilettoed shoes. "MANAGIA!" I screeched in frustration, yanking them off my feet one at a time. I could feel him close behind me again. Flexing my arm, I jabbed my elbow into his face, hitting the same spot as before. Roaring, he hunched over, blood dripping from his nose through his fingertips. My shoes in hand, I bolted away from him. I was grateful for the crunching of the soft leaves underneath my feet. They provided a cushion from the rocks and fallen branches ready to gash me with each stride I took.

I glimpsed over my shoulder and groaned as he was gaining in his pursuit. Adjusting my hold on one of the shoes, I slid the tip of the heel in between my fingers. Swinging my body around, I aimed for his face once again, the tip catching the skin on his cheek, cutting through. This slowed him once again as the rush of adrenaline aiding in my escape.

Leaping on a fallen tree, I began carefully climbing towards higher ground. I screamed as I felt his hand around my ankle. Falling, I landed hard on my stomach over the trunk. I held on as tight as I could, but to no avail; I wasn't strong enough. He grabbed my other ankle, tightened his grip, and pulled me off with the weight of his body. I landed on top of him as we both hit the ground. Trying to crawl away, he wrapped his arms around my waist and tossed me to the side like a rag doll. I coughed as he quickly made his way over to me and dug his shoe into the small of my back, immobilizing me once again. He yanked away the one shoe that I still had in hand and chucked it to the side. His breathing was heavy as I gasped for air. "I'll admit, you are crafty, but your pathetic Lantean stained body just isn't fast enough!" he laughed. Blood sprayed from his mouth and landed on my cheek. He snorted his nose loudly and spat to the side as I tried to push myself up. He repositioned himself so that he was standing with both feet on top of me, crushing me even further with the entirety of his weight. "Oh, my apologies, I seem to have bled on you." He crouched over and slowly slit his claws across the cheek. I winced as tiny streams of blood ran over my face to the ground.

"You!" I panted. "This...is...your...fault!"

He continued chuckling at me. Grabbing a fistful of my hair at the roots, he yanked upwards, my neck and head along with it. I cringed. "I highly doubt that. Do elaborate."

He shoved my face to the ground as he placed one knee on my shoulder blades. I took the deepest breath that I was able and blurted, "If you really wanted to remain the Lord of this hive...you would've cared for me yourself!" I struggled to continue talking. "You would have been more understanding...and would have attempted to help me!" I coughed. "All you have done...is ridicule me...humiliate me...and drag me down! Your plotting to downsize your brother only made his performance stronger...and my decision more in his favor!"

"Zerrix is a Drone Soldier! He is faceless and of no importance!"

"Why didn't you prove that in the Arena, huh? Why did you not take out your hatred on him then?" There was a slight pause, but I could hear him start to quietly laugh again. "He is the strongest! He told me himself that you are intimidated by him! As I have been told many times...'fear shows weakness!'"

He growled and pushed his knee harder into my back. I tried to breathe but no air came. His laughter grew louder. "His death will shortly follow yours!" he shouted as his laugh echoed through the trees. My mind and eyes began to fade from the lack of oxygen. I felt a slight tremor in the ground. Narz was too busy celebrating his triumph over me to notice. The vibrations grew louder and more prominent. His laughing ceased as I felt his body shift towards the sound. I heard a loud smack as his weight was launched off of me. I quickly drew in air, filling my lungs completely. Coughing, blood spewed from my mouth. Shaking my head, I tried to grasp what just happened as I was pulled upright by strong hands.

"Stand up, my Queen!" I heard Zerrix's voice say urgently. I placed my hands on his knees, trying to stand up. He was still shirtless from his test in the Arena. He hoisted me on my feet. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he tried to keep me from falling over again. My legs tingled as I got feeling back in them. Blinking my eyes, I saw Narz a considerable distance away, making his way to his feet.

"You JUGGERNAUT!" Narz roared in anger as he placed one hand on his back and winced in pain. Zerrix held me close and guided me over to the base of a tree where he left me to sit against it. Breathing heavily, I watched him slowly walk towards Narz. I could taste the anger in the air; it gave me chills. "I have been planning this from the moment I encountered that miserable excuse of a queen! She is weak and must be terminated! Do not tell me you don't sense it, brother!"

"Narz! Enough!" Zerrix roared. Narz chuckled and swung his arms to the side, mockingly. "Fall in line, Narz, or I will place you there!"

"A new queen worthy of the title will eventually rise up. Join me, brother!"

"You are delusional! This ends now!"

Narz held his hands up in front of him in a ridiculed defense. "Have I offended you, brother? Please...you cannot lead the hive!"

"I don't plan on leading it! SHE will!"

"You are joking! That...thing cannot even lead her own people! How could she possibly lead us?"

"Narz! That is ENOUGH!" Zerrix growled, shoving Narz in the chest. Narz stumbled backwards and swung his palm towards Zerrix. He deflected it and pushed him again. "I am sick of your self righteousness! You are a tyrant! You have done nothing but terrorize me since my birth! You will feel the wrath of all these many years!" Zerrix hollered as he continued walking towards him and shoving him.

"Your death will be imminent!"

Zerrix grabbed Narz by the neck and squoze. Narz gargled, clawing at Zerrix's hand. "Do you really want to travel that road, Narz? Why don't you show me what you mean," Zerrix snarled. He, then, flung Narz into a tree, the sound of crackling wood filled the chilled air with a loud crash.

Narz slowly made his way to his feet and panted. "You will pay for this, younger brother!" Zerrix grabbed him by the collars of his jacket and tossed him towards me with little effort.

"I'm all warmed up from the Arena. Let's get this started! Let me see what you can do!"

Narz pushed himself on his knees and shot a murderous look at me. "You will die next!" he spat. Zerrix reached him and stomped on his back, knocking him to the ground again on his face.

"What, cannot take the pressure? Stop spewing threats!"

"You would protect this abomination?! Surely, you cannot believe she is the one!"

"I can't hear you, Narz. I refuse to surrender to you just because you do not believe in her. It is not her fault you couldn't protect our former queen!"

Narz began to roar as he jolted upright and tackled Zerrix to the ground. He thrust his palm into Zerrix's bare chest and began the feeding process. Zerrix growled in pain, placing his hands around Narz's as he laughed. "You are weak! You have ALWAYS been weak!" Narz snarled.

I felt helpless just sitting there watching them. Darting my eyes towards the ground around me, I desperately searched for anything to hurl at Narz. Finding a large, rugged rock, I chucked it at his head. It was a direct hit. He growled as his attention went to me. He bore his teeth and furled his nose. "Oh, do not fret! Your life force will be like sweet nectar through my veins!"

Zerrix roared loudly as he yanked off Narz's suction. Narz fell over backwards, glanced at his palm in shock, and looked over at Zerrix in astonishment. Zerrix stood up and stumbled, his face scrunched in pain. He looked aged: the skin wrinkled around his eyes and mouth, and his hair was completely gray. "Tell me, Narz, that was shameful, even for you. Is that all you can muster? Let me return the favor!"

Narz shuffled his feet on the ground, trying to back away. Zerrix reached him easily and jammed his palm into his chest, ripping through his attire. His body twitched as it surrendered to the feeding. Zerrix's youthfulness returned to his face, his hair remaining gray. Narz's body became old and withered as the last bit of energy was drained from him.

Then, a sudden cold silence fell around us. Even the trees stood still. Narz's body laid motionless and lifeless.

Zerrix shut his eyes and growled softly as he slowly pulled his hand away from Narz's chest. He glanced at me and wiped the blood on his palm off on his pants. He stood up and walked over.

My head was still throbbing with my chest sending crippling pain with every breath I took. I looked up at him, tiredness prevalent in both of our eyes. He carefully grabbed one of my arms and wrapped it around his neck. I gasped in agony as he hoisted me to my feet. "Are you able to walk?" he asked quietly.

"I believe so," I wheezed.

We both turned our heads, hearing the sound of crunching leaves. "What is this?!" Lex'Zvas questioned as he slowed his jog towards us. His eyes were wide and confused as he glanced down at Narz's corpse and back at us.

"He tried to kill the queen," Zerrix replied.

"Are you going to revive him?" Lex'Zvas asked in bewilderment.

Zerrix exhaled slowly. "No." Lex'Zvas took several steps backwards. "He would only try again."

"You do not know that!"

"Please, brother, do not be a fool! He is a traitor for attempting in the first place. The answer is no." Lex'Zvas stood there, taken aback. He glanced down at Narz again as Zerrix lifted me into a cradle. "We are leaving, brother, now," Zerrix finished sternly. Lex'Zvas shook his head and turned to follow us. The tension and awkwardness between Zerrix and Lex'Zvas was electric to my senses as I sighed, grateful to be safe once again.

Droplets of blood continued to drip from the side of my mouth as we walked through the forest. I blinked my eyes as I looked around, recognizing the trees again. Once we passed the boundaries of our hive, Zerrix readjusted his grip around me as more of our men came to aid us. "Go retrieve some of our rations! She is near death and needs to feed!" Zerrix yelled.

I spat to the side. The taste of iron in my mouth was so dominant that it made me nauseous. Lex'Zvas' frustration was still visible on his face as he glanced over at me. I gave a half smile, trying to send any comforting vibes his way. He exhaled and looked at Zerrix. Shaking his head again, he turned and walked away into the trees and out of sight. "He will get over it," Zerrix commented, peering over his shoulder towards the direction Lex'Zvas had left. He continued to carry me into his cave as he slowly sat down on the organic, muscled ground. Carefully laying me on my back, he elevated my head on his legs. "What is the extent of your injuries?"

I cradled my left arm with my right. I could hear a crackling wheeze in each exhale that I made. "My left shoulder was yanked out of its socket…" I began. "...and I think he damaged some of my ribs."

He lifted me into a sitting position on his lap. I cringed as he positioned both of his hands around my left shoulder. He shoved my collar bone with one hand as he pushed my arm up with the other. I screamed as my shoulder popped back into place. Running his fingers along my sides, he felt my rib cage. "I cannot be certain, but it feels as if one of your lungs is collapsing due to several fractured ribs," he deduced.

"That would explain many things," I tried laughing, but instead, had a coughing fit. "I don't think I'll recover from this without some medical attention. Do you have an infirmary?"

"No, we have our food rations," he shook his head.

"What good will food do me?" I half laughed, continuing to cough.

"Please, my Queen, you must keep still and refrain from speaking."

I nodded my head and spat out a little more blood. I felt my left lung cave in on itself. My breathing got more staggered, the coughing increasing almost with every breath. Zerrix groaned as he shifted me so that I was facing towards him. I felt extremely dizzy with my ever increasing migraine only adding to my vertigo. "My Queen, the others are too far out to get the sustenance you need in time. You must feed on me!"

I shook my head, closing my eyes. The world was spinning so rapidly. Hunching over to the side, I vomited mostly blood. I felt so drained as I rested my cheek on his shoulder. "You need my life force! I will recover!"

I shook my head again. He groaned as he gently pushed me off of him, grabbing my right hand. He placed my palm on his chest and pressed hard. I felt my feeding organ open and tear into his skin. It was as if a rush of running, cold water flowed into my palm and through my veins. I gasped as he growled. My eyes opened widely as I felt my ribs push themselves back into place and my damaged lung inflate with air again. The gashes on my face closed themselves, and the pain my body was feeling had lifted as my airway cleared of blood. Closing my eyes, my mind relaxed as I took a deep breath. Realizing I was still sucking his life, I quickly pulled my hand off of his chest. He was panting with excruciating pain; however, instead of looking older, he appeared to be paler.

I furled my eye ridges, watching his agony. "It seems like every time I find myself in mortal danger, you always get injured in the process of my rescue."

He let out a small breathy laugh. "All in a day's journey, I suppose."

I forced a small smile. "Why am I healed? Why didn't you age?"

"Life force regenerates our bodies. Having just fed off my brother, my body will heal more quickly. I do not know why I didn't age. It may be because of your metamorphosis. If I may add, your suction is far more painful than that of Narz."

Frowning, I began wiping away the sweat on his face with the back of my hand. "You look paler, and that is saying a lot," I commented quietly, trying to smile. A small grin spread across his face as his breathing steadied. "That was incredibly generous of you. You didn't have to do that, you know."

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "It needed to be done. Your life is far more important than my moments of suffering. It was an honor." Tilting my head to the side, I squinted my eyes. Sighing a little, I leaned forward and slowly pressed my lips against his forehead.

Releasing the small kiss, I whispered, "Thank you, really, for everything you have done for me." He opened his eyes to look into mine, blinking in surprise. I giggled quietly to myself. He almost seemed ignorant as to how I felt or astonished when I promoted him. It was the least I could do. He truly was a humble man, and I found that very charming.

Two soldiers entered the cave carrying two large cocoons. They bowed as they carefully laid the two sacks on the ground next to us. "Thank you, that will be all." I nodded in appreciation. They bowed once again and made their exit.

Scooting myself off of him, I knelt down next to one of the cocoons. I glanced over at him as he watched me. I was unsure as to how I should ingest this mass. It all seemed grotesque. "Well? Will you show me what I'm supposed to do with this?"

"They are both for you."

"Nonsense, you've earned that one," I pointed. "You said eating would give you strength. So, if you don't mind, I want my new First in Command healthy again."

He smirked as he carefully sat up straight. Wincing slightly, he cupped his hand over the opening where my feeding had left its mark. Groaning softly, he made his way on his knees to the other sack. He knelt facing me. "With all do respect, my Queen, you make it seem so difficult," he commented, smiling.

Raising my eye ridges, "Humor me." He shook his head slightly as he held my gaze.

"Very well, it is actually quite simple. The fountain of life force is located in the chest, just below the collarbone," he began, using his pointer fingers to outline a circle over the center of his chest around is wound. Reaching towards me, he graciously picked up my right hand and turned it over, palm up. "The feeding organ is located in our hands. We must firmly press the palm against the skin in order for the organ to properly dilate. This ruptures the well in our prey, allowing the feeding organ to absorb the life force freely. The course of the feeding is osmosis." Sliding his fingers over the tiny holes that surrounded the slit on my palm, he continued, "These apertures release a chemical and an enzyme in our prey's blood stream. The chemical renders them relatively motionless; whereas, the enzyme keeps their heart pumping for as long as possible, to ensure a maximum feeding time."

"How did you break away from Narz?" I asked, feeling intrigued. "It was not arduous to observe the acute pain you were in."

Glancing up at me, he paused. "The thought of him feeding off of you gave me the will to overcome that particular barrier. Breaking the suction was comparably easy at that point."

There was a moment of silence as he let go of my hand. We kept each others' eye. Blinking, I peered back down at the cocoon. Examining it more closely, I could make out an unconscious being inside. Hesitating, I didn't want to harm the man wrapped in the silky, silvery strands of his prison. Exhaling, I closed my eyes remembering the sensation I had experienced from the two times I was forced to feed. I needed to feel that again.

Slowly flexing my hand, I clenched my teeth as I drove my palm into the man's chest, breaking through the exterior coating of the cocoon and his clothing. A soft moan was heard from him as I extracted his life force. I let out a hissing sigh as I closed my eyes, indulging in the contact. The last drops of energy trickled into my hand and pulsed through my veins. I had never felt so alive, and I wanted more. Slowly releasing my hand, I examined my palm. It had traces of my victim's blood all along my fingers and around my feeding organ.

"Well done, my Queen," Zerrix smirked. Softly chuckling in his throat, he raised his right hand and forced it into the second cocoon. He growled as the suction gave him strength. The wound on his chest quickly grew over itself, fully healed. He let out a loud exhale through his nose as he removed his hand, glancing back up at me. I smiled.

We got distracted by a commander at the opening of the cave. He bowed and walked up to me, handing me my shoes. "Thank you, Commander," I smiled. Tilting my head to the side, I squinted my eyes again as I placed the shoes on my feet. I didn't recognize this Wraith. His hair was a long dirty blonde that was rather stringy and unkempt. He looked younger than most commanders I had seen, his hair had no traces of greying. In all honesty, he looked like an adolescent. "What Hive are you from?"

"He is one of mine," we heard a woman say. We both stood up as she entered the cave with another commander at her side. I knew there was something unique about her and oddly familiar. She was absolutely stunning, her presence emanated authority and veneration. The clothing she wore was a white leather similar to a commander's uniform with the length of her jacket ending at her hips. The Iratus shell like sleeves were red and matched the red streak in her hair and made it brighter. The red streak flowed down the left side of her face about an inch in width; otherwise, her hair was a pearly, straight white that framed her face perfectly and lengthened to the base of her neck. Her jaw line was a soft feminine square in shape with prominent cheek bones. Her skin was extremely fair and made her icy green cat eyes beam. The star burst tattoo around her left eye was black just like every other Wraith tattoo I'd seen. Her white slacks were slender and lengthened her long legs with elegant red flats covering her feet. She had one red belt fitted around her waist. She wore red fingerless gloves with an opening in her palm as to reveal the feeding organ, just like the openings on my gauntlets.

She wrapped her hands around the arm of the very tall Wraith at her side. His height matched that of Zerrix. He was thin and older looking, appearing to be in his forties; yet, I knew this not to be so because his hair was pure white and just as wiry and uncombed as the other Wraith with them. His skin was a very pale green with green eyes to match. His eye ridges were slightly wrinkled over the nose which made his otherwise intense eyes seem kinder. He had an identical star burst tattoo around his left eye and eye ridge that his queen had. The small beard he had was identical to Zerrix's except it was also unkempt. His thin lips smirked confidently.

"We retrieved those from the forest on our journey's here. We have brought your new Lord's attire as well," she continued, glancing at the younger Wraith again. He exited the cave and returned promptly with Zerrix's shirt, jacket, and belts. Handing them nicely folded to Zerrix, he bowed and took his place on the other side of his queen.

"Thank you, that was very considerate of you," I smiled. She let go of the Commander's arm and glided gracefully on her feet over to us. She proceeded to circle slowly around Zerrix as he finished looping the belts around his waist and shoulder. He placed his arms behind his back and stood in attention.

"The Keeper tells me that you made quite the uproar in the Arena, single handedly defeating many from three different hives. I expect nothing less." He bowed his head as she paused in front of him. "What did Narz have to say of this?"

There was a pause between them. Zerrix groaned, "He was not pleased."

"I did not suspect so." She tilted her head and squinted her eyes, glancing over at me and then, back to him. I heard what sounded like soft whispers in the cave, but I couldn't understand them. "You truly believe that...I can sense it. That is why you try so boldly to protect her."

"Yes, Primary Ley'La," Zerrix responded, clearing his throat. Her smirk returned. "Then, you understand why I needed to remove him."

Her eyes widened; a look of slight anger came over her face. "Did I not predict his temper would be his undoing?" she growled. Zerrix exhaled slowly. A detectable sorrow was present; I could feel it like a cold shiver down my spine. "That was extremely audacious on your part," she added in an almost scolding manner. He bowed his head further and took several steps away from her. Hissing quietly, she glanced over at me again. "Then, we should undoubtedly keep our eyes towards the heavens," she finished.

Slowly walking over, I felt her mind easily probe mine as a flash of my memories danced through our vision, starting from when I first encountered Zerrix as a girl. Switching with a flash of light, I saw my mother's ascension again. The promotional ceremony to the rank of a Captain danced across my eyes. The conversation I had with my father before I ventured here came into view, Rivolliere and my crew and my ship as well. I gasped as she continued to see my memories. The glare of the giant insect attacking me made my neck seer in pain, almost as if I were feeling the penetration once again. I could see Zerrix as a soldier save me from the beast. The blinding lights of Tirrian's lab came into view as he smacked the side of Queen Breena's face. My father dying literally by my hand brought uncontrollable sadness back into my being. We both gasped as she released her connection. My body went limp as I fell over to my side. Zerrix caught me before I hit the ground. She stumbled backwards, inhaling quickly as she clasped her head. Tears were rolling down her face as her eyes widened. The two Wraith with her rushed to her side as she regained her composure. "I understand now…"

"What...just happened?" I asked as Zerrix brought me upright again. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and rested my head against his chest, slowing my intake of air. He placed his strong hands around my waist and held me close.

"Some queens, especially around here, are rigid and prudent; their minds are very focussed and narrow. Hearing the prattle through the highway of thoughts, I desired to know more about this 'queen who fell from the sky.' Many are skeptical about you, even though most of us have never had the pleasure of an encounter. I wish for you to join my...alliance, if you will, to observe this rising queen."

"I already have a queen who is giving me instruction."

She huffed a mocking laugh with a wide grin. "I'm sure that's what she calls it. Most of her alliance has been taken or killed by the Lantean monster. Her defenses are dwindling. You would make better use of your time amongst my sisters and their hives."

"Very thoughtful of you, but being branded as naive and foolish, I will need some time to ponder your generous proposal," I squinted my eyes, feeling like she was keeping something from me.

She folded her arms and smiled. "I see. I suppose that is wise considering the circumstances. Very well, I will give you a month to decide. In the meantime, I believe I have something that belongs to you on the borders of my property. If you would be so kind as to retrieve it." I furled my eye ridges, feeling beguiled. "It is just to the west through the forest a ways and over some rough terrain. You will recognize it when you see it."

She hissed at the two men by her side, clasping gently onto the older commander's arm again. They turned and exited. The younger Wraith delayed his leave for a moment, looking over at us again. "Come, my son!" We heard her holler from outside. He smirked at us and strutted out.

"That...was rather unexpected," I commented, quietly. I lifted my head to look at Zerrix.

"Indeed, my Queen," he agreed, glancing back down at me. Removing his arms from my waist, he took several steps back and and placed his hands behind his back. I folded my arms feeling slightly bothered.

"Who is she? And what did she do to me?" I questioned, squinting my eyes.

"That was Primary Ley'La. She is one of the queens of the western hemisphere. She probed your mind to see your past as to better understand you."

"Okay, then, why all the talk about Narz?"

Zerrix exhaled again, slightly growling. "She is our older sister."

"Her?" My eyes widened.

"Her proposal was quite benevolent. I haven't seen her in many years. She was offended when Narz chose to join Queen Breena's Hive, and we, as younger brothers, followed him. I will say this, you do not want her as your enemy, my Queen." His face showed of slight dread. I almost laughed at the sight. It was very uncharacteristic and revealing. I kept my amusement to myself, but as if he could detect my golly, he widened his eyes and continued, "I was being completely serious, my Queen. Her personality is playful like Lex'Zvas, but she is just as strong willed and ruthless as Narz. I would not recommend being on opposing sides."

"My apologies!" I giggled, not being able to contain myself anymore. "I have never seen you react like this. I find it very pleasant." Looking away, he grinned slightly, shaking his head.

I breathed, calming myself again. "I meant no disrespect."

"You may say what you wish, my Queen. My opinions are only relevant when you desire them to be."

"Your opinions matter a lot to me," I sighed. "May I ask you some questions?"

"You may have whatever you need, my Queen. I will do my best to accomodate. I am yours."

I paused, losing my train of thought. Smiling, I wasn't sure what to reply. His response seemed deeper than he had intended. "Very well, um, let me gather my thoughts. In the meantime, shall we go see what apparently belongs to me?"

His smile widened, "After you, my Queen." He elegantly held out his elbow towards me. I smiled, lifting my eye ridge. Wrapping my hands around his arm, we walked out of the cave. I stared at the ground for a while, trying to grasp all that was happening around me. It all seemed surreal: Narz's downfall, my feelings for this man, meeting his sister, her proposal to join her alliance. The emotions were much more amiable than what I had been experiencing as of late.

"I want some more men to accompany us," I said after a moment. We paused in our travel. He glanced down at me with a playful smile on his face.

"Very well, my Queen. Do you find my abilities incapable of protecting you?" he teased. My mouth fell agape. I closed it again, smiling widely.

"On the contrary, you have proven yourself time and time again to be more than adequate. I'm more concerned at what your sister has waiting. Who knows what it is or what it will do."

"She is not so sinister, my Queen."

"Nonetheless, lets take some back up just to be cautious."

"Of course," he finished, bowing slightly towards me. I heard his thoughts reach out in a language that was incomprehensive. The three soldiers from Zerrix's brigade walked out of the trees towards us.

"Was that Wraith that you were speaking in your mind?" I asked, finding my curiosity again.

"Yes," he responded as we began walking with our escorts behind us.

"What's the language structure? I wish to learn it."

He delayed his response for a moment, thinking about my question. "Wraith, as a language, has evolved since the elders first rose. It is more of tones in our voice. The sounds are often mistaken as growls. The original language has many x's, z's, s's, r's, and l's with vowels connecting them. I suppose laziness has reduced the language to where it is today."

"Do you speak the original form?"

"Yes, the newer generation of Wraith do not fully comprehend it, but our Hive is rather traditional and kept the language pure," he finished, ducking under a fallen tree and guiding me graciously below to the other side.

"Is it a difficult language to learn?" I asked smiling at his chivalry.

"Not at all. Unfortunately, with the different Hives so spread out in the planet, we have yet to have a formal written language. That is perhaps the reason why the original form is being lost."

"Hmm…" I glanced at the ground, pondering as we continued our hike through the trees.

"A sample of your thoughts, my Queen?" he asked, distracting me. "The language in which you contemplate is beautiful but very unknown to your Hive and myself. We do not understand your thoughts."

Glancing up at him again, curiosity was present on his face. I lifted the corners of my mouth and began to explain, "You call my people 'Lantean.' The true designation is Alteran, yet your term is not far off base. We live on the city of Atlantis which is the magnificent city ship that floats above the flowing waters of Lantea. The Alterans desire to spread across the galaxies and populate the many habitable planets. There is a beautiful ceremony that takes place when we leave the seeds of a new people to grow and develop on the planet of choice. Some of us return and live among them in disguise so as not to disrupt the natural order of evolution. To many of these different civilizations, we are known as the 'Great Ancestors' or the 'Atlanteans.' I suppose the name sort of took hold. As far as your language is concerned, Alteran or Atlantean, is a written language; therefore, I might be able to help you establish one to preserve your culture's tongue."

He lifted his eye ridge with a smirk on his face as he turned his head towards the direction we were heading. "I will take that as a confirmation," I smiled as our conversation inadvertently ended.

Our travel through the trees went smoothly, taking no notice as to how much time had really passed. The sun was setting above us as we reached what Primary Ley'La referred to as 'rough terrain.' The path travelled was filled with large boulders and cliffs as we carefully trailed down the side of a mountain.

I groaned in angst as we walked single file along a small bluff's narrow edge. "I do not understand how Queen Taina's sister did this. I definitely need some new shoes if I am to continue hiking on a daily basis," I grumbled under my breath without thinking.

"That can be arranged, my Queen," Zerrix noted. Glancing at him, I raised my eye ridges passively. Sighing, I scrunched my face slightly as I shuffled my body against the wall. Some unsteady earth caved from underneath my footing causing me to slip. I gasped as Zerrix and the soldier behind me both braced my fall with their hands. My body sent a surge of energy through my spine, stiffening my limbs. Holding my breath, I closed my eyes.

Exhaling again, I whispered to myself as a way of calming my tension, "Calmati...calmati...calmati…" Finding my equanimity again, I nodded my head in thanks at the two men and stepped over the gap in the pathway.

"I believe this is a safe distance. We will jump and land on the level below us," Zerrix announced after several hundred yards of careful hiking. My eyes widened as I glanced over at him.

"Are you mad?!" I exclaimed in horror, peering at the great distance between where we were and the floor beneath us. Zerrix inclined his head towards the soldiers behind us and they jumped down one by one, landing with ease in a crouch. My pulse quickened as my breathing was audibly faster.

"I will catch you, my Queen," he reassured, smirking at me. Taking a deep breath, he dropped to where the men were. Landing gracefully, he turned to look back up at me with his arms outstretched in front of him.

I shifted my feet nervously, pressing my back firmly against the side of the bluff. "'Fear shows weakness,' 'fear shows weakness,' 'fear shows weakness,'" I repeated continuously as a way to prep myself for the leap. Closing my eyes and holding my breath, I slowly took a step off the edge and into the air. What felt like seconds of weightlessness, I landed in Zerrix's arms. I scrunched my eyes together and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, burying my face into his chest from my moment of childish terror.

"Well done, my Queen," he commented, carefully placing my body upright again. I clutched onto him for a moment longer, shaking slightly. Wrapping his arms around my back, he held me close. "You are safe, my Queen." He stroked my hair calmly as I slowly released my jittery hold on him. I exhaled as I stood firmly on my feet again. Stepping several steps away from him, I ran my hands down my attire as a way to smooth any wrinkles.

"Are we even going the right way?" I asked as my adrenaline continued to pulse through me. I felt slightly annoyed. What was the purpose of jumping off of that?

"We are at the borders of your Hive. The location of where I first found you with the insect is not far from here. Primary Ley'La's boundaries touch yours, so I suspect it is not long until we discover whatever she has for you," Zerrix responded matter-of-factly.

"We're burning daylight, so lets get a move on," I finished as my legs felt slightly lethargic from my earlier stiffness. We continued forward in the direction that Zerrix had indicated. The trees began to have a familiarity to them. I glanced around as the buzzing of the insects stalled as we walked through the foliage. As a cricket ceases his chirping as a predator lingers near, so it seemed with these. Glancing at each of the soldiers with us, I was curious to know more about them. "You, what is your name?" I pointed to the Wraith on the farthest right of me. He was bald with dark brown greying mustache that began at the top of his lips and formed around the side of his mouth until it reached his chin and dangled off his face into small braids on either side. His eyes were a golden brown that seemed surprised that I would acknowledge him.

"Xar, my Queen," he responded obediently. I smiled and nodded my head. I glanced at the Wraith next to him. His hair a greying light brown and shorter than Zerrix's, only lengthening to his shoulders, and it wasn't pulled back in a half ponytail. His pale green eyes were vivid. His facial hair was similar to that of Lex'Zvas, except it was separated into two different sections with a small band on either side. He was more youthful looking than the other men with me.

"And you?" I asked him.

"Syrisx, my Queen," he introduced with a bow. My smile was contagious on his face as he returned with a small grin. Glancing to my left at the final Wraith with us, he seemed more serious than the others. His grey eyes were intense and only added to the sternness of his character. His greying blonde dreadlocked hair was long. The small beards that lengthened off his face from his bottom lip were joined together with with a small band.

"I am Vorrin, my Queen," he bowed. They were all very tall, not as tall as Zerrix, but similar in their varying heights. The armor that Zerrix once wore covered their very muscular builds.

"It is my pleasure to formally meet all of you. I can tell just by looking at you that you are all noble in your endeavours. Thank you for joining us," I declared looking from one face to another. Zerrix smirked as their expressions showed somewhat of confusion.

"Forgive them, my Queen, as soldiers of a Hive, the rank is the lowest. They are not used to the Queen acknowledging them on such a personal level," he explained.

"Well, just as I told him, you are all free to speak to me at your desire. I may lead you, but I am not above you," I commented making sure each of them looked me in the eye. They all bowed one by one as we continued walking. Wrapping my hands around Zerrix's arm again, I sighed feeling refreshed.

"My Queen?" Syrisx cleared his throat. "If I may be so bold as to ask you a question…" I peered past Zerrix to look over at him. He hesitated but continued, "Is it true that you're the queen that fell from the sky?"

His question caught me off guard as I tried to think of what he was implying. "Well, I didn't actually fall. I came down in a ship," I explained as we entered a clearing. Glancing to where we were, we all paused. A wide toothy grin spread across my face as I knew what Primary Ley'La was referring to. The small ship that my crew and I took to get here was parked right in front of us. The foliage had grown over it slightly due to time. As a child's glee for a new toy, I ran in front of the men and placed my hand on the sensor that opened the back door to the vessel. It lit up with life and the door opened lowering as a ramp to enter. Turning to look at the men who were astounded by the sight, I continued, "This very ship, in fact."


	5. Chapter 4 - I Get Wicked

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe (c) 2014

Chapter Four

I Get Wicked

"I Get Wicked" by Thousand Foot Krutch - this song inspired very much her thought process towards the end of the chapter.

"Be Somebody" by Thousand Foot Krutch - told ya this song would pop up again! This chapter just reveals a little more about Zerrix and the reasons why he is so passionate about protecting his Queen.

"You Give Me That Feeling" by Fireflight - this song describes how Queen Luna feels.

"Burn" by Three Days Grace - this song gives the feel of the turning point in Queen Luna's consciousness as she deals with Tirrian.

"Circus For a Psycho" by Skillet - This song goes along with "Burn" and "I Get Wicked," describing Queen Luna's rage towards Tirrian.

"Blood (Empty Promises)" by Papa Roach - This song describes Tirrian. I have this song edited, due to some unsavory language.

"Come here! Come here!" I motioned at the four men excitedly. They slowly walked over and stared at the ship in awe. "Seeing as its getting dark to walk, we'll fly back in this." I practically skipped inside in my eagerness. They followed me in and glanced at everything around them.

"This is truly remarkable, my Queen," Zerrix commented, stroking the leather seats attached to the walls.

"Come! Have a seat up here!" I insisted as I sat down in the pilot's seat to the left. Zerrix made his way up front and sat in the seat to the right of the computer console. "The cushioned seating is nice, right?" I giggled, feeling absolutely thrilled. "Watch this!" I channelled the com link through my thoughts as a computer screen appeared in front of us showing the life signs in the ship.

"What sort of technology is this?" Xar asked in wonder.

"This is me, that is Zerrix, this is you, Xar," I began pointing at the different dots on the screen. "That one is Vorrin, and this one is Syrisx." Curiosity was ablaze across their faces as their eyes were wide drinking in everything. Peering over my shoulder, "You may want to take a seat back there. We're about to take off." They obediently sat down in the seats available, Xar kneeling on the floor with his hands gripping either side of the entrance way to the front half of the ship. Smiling, I commanded with my thoughts for the back door to close behind us; the men turned their heads on alert as what seemed like magic to their eyes seeing the door close on its own.

Grinning uncontrollably, I squinted my eyes and ignited the engines. The ship rumbled slightly; the men tightened their grip on whatever they were holding. With a single thought, we lifted off the ground. The ship hovered for a moment as I pulled back on the steering wheel. It tilted towards the sky as I maneuvered it up and out of the trees. There was no turbulence once we cleared the foliage. The view of the stars was breathtaking from here as we traveled through the firmament.

Quickly glancing around at the men, they were all staring out the window in utter amazement. Zerrix looked over at me, catching my eye. I winked with a big smile as he turned to look through the window again, smirking. Within minutes, I could see the clearing where our Hive met. There was a bustling of men below us as I carefully landed the ship. I opened the back door as the other men cautiously peered inside. Turning off the ship, I stood up and began walking towards the door, running my hand playfully across Zerrix's arm and shoulder. Smirking, he stood up and followed me as well as the other men.

Lex'Zvas and the other scientists walked up to me, their eyes enormous. "Did you just-? Is this-? How did you-? Can I-?" Lex'Zvas rambled, unable to finish his sentences. "My Queen, you have to take me for an excursion!"

I couldn't help but snicker to myself at all of their expressions. "Sorry, Lex'Zvas! It's late and I'm feeling a little tired...tomorrow, okay?" I laughed. He hunched over and stood back up quickly with a growly sigh, smiling with a great letdown.

"As you wish, my Queen. I am patient; I can wait," he sighed again. My Hive all silenced themselves and stood at attention, waiting for my command. I looked around at everyone and smiled diffidently. Zerrix inclined his head and smirked as a way of reassurance.

Clearing my throat, I stepped up onto the ramp so as to be on higher ground for all to hear. "I'm sure you are all curious as to what this is. It is the vessel I used to get here to the planet in the first place. I suppose I am 'the queen who fell from the sky.' I actually flew down instead of fell down. I will answer and explain more of your curiosities in due time. We have had quite the eventful couple of days. Go and rest in your personal chambers. I will rest in here and will call when I need you," I announced. They all bowed their heads and left into the forest. Sighing, I closed my eyes as Zerrix remained behind.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, my Queen?" he asked cordially. Exhaling with a small smile, I shook my head. He bowed and turned on his heels to leave.

My heart rate accelerated as I hesitated and scrambled for words, not wanting him to leave just yet. "Wait!"

He turned his head to look at me. Walking back, he smiled with interest on his face. "What can I do for you, my Queen?"

I looked away, realizing how pathetically horrible I was at expressing myself. "Um...nothing, nevermind." I furled my eye ridges and stared at the ground as I fiddled with my fingers. I felt like such a fool.

As if he could detect my stress, he placed his fingertips underneath mine. Bowing his head, he kissed the top my right hand and looked back up at me. "If you need anything, my Queen, I am not far." He undid his belts and removed his jacket. Wrapping it around me, he continued, "Take this for warmth."

"Gratias," I smiled shyly, nodding my head. His smirk sent a jolt of butterflies through my being as he slowly backed away from me. He turned and walked out of sight into the trees. I stood there for a moment longer, feeling the warmth still left in his jacket. I sighed thoughtfully and stepped inside the ship. The stillness of the interior brought a sadness upon me as the back door closed itself. Staring at the floor, I felt the melancholy sink in. I sighed as my heart began to ache. What was wrong with me? Did I truly miss him? He did spend the past few months by my side aiding my transformation and protected me the past two days. I suppose it made sense.

Shrugging my shoulders to bury myself more in the jacket, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, recognizing the smell. It reminded me of him and made me feel safe. My somber mood passed as I felt my tranquility return. Glancing down at the ground, I giggled. The jacket was too long for my person, reaching down and bunching up on the floor. At least it would make a proper blanket. I gathered some of the cushions from the seating and formed a makeshift mattress. Sliding off my shoes, I curled up on the bed and enveloped myself in the jacket. With one thought, the lights switched off, leaving me in a quiet blackness. The walls of the ship muffled the buzzing of the insects outside. I closed my eyes as I ran my fingers over my Stargate pendant. Feeling my body fully relax, I drifted into a deep sleep.

My dreams were vivid and colorful. Flashes of purples, pinks, blues, and greens all danced across my subconscious. Visions of the different members of my Hive were so real that they were almost touchable. I saw Zerrix in the Arena, fighting valiantly and Narz torturing me in the forest. The view of Narz on the ground startled me as I walked up to him. He wasn't aged, but looked like he was merely sleeping with a bundle of cloth in his arms, resting on his chest. I jumped as he woke and sat up, carefully cradling the bundle. He looked down at it and moved away some of the material to glance at what was inside. I tried to look, but the vision faded to a small ship. As if I already knew what it was, my subconscious self walked up to the small vessel and climbed inside. The fleshy window grew overhead until it was completely opaque. The control console in front of me lit up as lights flashed. I jolted awake to the sound of pounding on the door. My muscles were stiff as I stretched my body; the popping from my joints felt incredible.

The knocking continued, more loud and impatient this time. "Um momento s'il vous plaît!" I hollered, scrunching my face. I rubbed my eyes, slid my shoes on, and slowly stood up, wondering how long I had been asleep. It was completely daylight outside. Another bang came on the door. "Ho detto, um momento! Paciencia s'il vous plaît! Caspita!" I walked over to the door and opened it feeling irked. The door slowly fell agape, revealing the Primary waiting with a furious look on her face.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" she roared, stepping away from the door.

"Excuse me, I just woke up. Would you be so polite as to tone down your voice?" I replied, hotly.

"ARE THE RUMORS TRUE?!"

I cupped one of my eyes in my palm, trying to readjust my vision to the brightness of the sunshine. My eye ridges furled as I looked at her. "What in the cosmos are you talking about?"

"Did Primary Ley'La pay you a visit?!" she spat. I rolled my eyes and exhaled as I saw Zerrix quickly walk over to us. I couldn't help but smile, feeling elated.

"Yes, just yesterday, why?" I replied, feeling my agitation again as I looked back at her. Zerrix bowed towards the Primary and strided up to me.

"My Queen, may I interrupt you momentarily?" he asked urgently.

"Of course," I smiled, looking at the Primary and holding my pointer finger up towards her. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, my Queen," he started, guiding me back inside the ship again. Hearing the Primary growling irritably outside, I closed the door for privacy.

"What is it then?"

"My Queen, have you thought about my sister's proposal?" he asked still holding my arms in his strong hands, making sure I kept his eyes.

"Sort of, why? She said I'd have a month to think about it," I replied, my insides jumping a little with him so near.

He smiled and realized I didn't know something. "My Queen, your slumber lasted twenty-seven days. I can sense that she is on her way here now."

My eyes grew wide as I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. "WHAT?! How is that possible?! How could I have slept for so long?" I felt so lackadaisical and nauseated at the new information. My breathing quickened as I panicked from the sudden rush of anxiety. I had no time to think about anything! I felt so rushed and unprepared. "Hold me!" I blurted, trying to find any form of comfort. He gathered me in his arms obediently as I tried to calm myself. Having him here gave me the security I needed to think clearly again. "What should I do? No wonder the Primary is ferocious out there!"

"I have stated before that I would not make my sister an enemy," he advised stroking my hair with one of his hands.

"So do you think I should join her alliance?"

"The decision is yours, my Queen. Your Hive will support you in whatever you decide."

I exhaled, closing my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him. "This may seem desultory...but...I missed you…" I barely whispered. I heard him chuckle softly. He carefully rested his head against mine as he continued to stroke my hair.

As if out of nowhere, the strange feeling one gets when someone is near but out of sight flooded over me. Zerrix and I both turned our heads towards the door. I recognized the feeling as Primary Ley'La but also the Keeper, Queen Taina and another presence I was unfamiliar with. I glanced back up at Zerrix, "Why are they here? And who's with them?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he glanced back down at me. Releasing my arms, I bent down and picked up his jacket, handing it to him. He undid his belts, put his jacket on, and resecured the belts. "Thank you for that. It made my rest more comfortable," I commented, feeling slightly nervous. "Ready?"

"After you, my Queen," he smirked with a bow. I breathed and walked over to the door, opening it. I felt like I was being put on display as all eyes stared at me.

"I see you found what I was referring to," Primary Ley'La smirked. "Did I not tell you she could do it?" she commented to the Queen next to her. This Queen was one I hadn't met before, I suspected she was from Primary Ley'La's alliance. She was very tall and slender. Her cream colored leather outfit was also similar to that of a commander's with grey blade-like accents as her collar and cuffs on her sleeves. There was a grey belt over the grey accents around her waist. Her jacket lengthened to her ankles with the same hue of slacks that she wore barely visible underneath. The shoes she wore were elegant low heels that also matched in color. Her hair was a silvery light brown that was straight for the most part and then curled slightly inwards once it reached the tips. The piercing pale green of her eyes stood out against her beige skin. She had a large tattoo that started at her left temple and waved with jagged edges, breaking into sections down the left side of her neck past her collar bone until it curled in on itself just below her collarbone. She gave me a once look over and squinted her eyes in disapproval.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something? Why are you all here?" I asked, walking down the ramp.

"I would like to know the same thing!" the Primary growled, glancing from one queen to the other.

"I told you I would be back in a month. I am a bit early due to the new circumstances," Primary Ley'La commented, looking over at the Primary with a smug smile on her face. "Have you come to a decision, Queen Luna?"

I hesitated as she turned her head to look at Queen Taina and the Keeper. They slowly walked over and stood next to her, staring down the Primary. I could feel the frustration and tension in the air, yet it was still unknown to me what exactly was going on. "What is the meaning of this?!" the Primary roared.

"The Lantean monster has taken yet another Hive from your alliance, including the queen. The remaining Hives need more adequate protection than what is currently provided. I am hereby dissolving this alliance and merging it into my own. You may join us or go east. The choice is yours," Primary Ley'La announced. There was a slight iciness in her words as she spoke confidently. The Primary's eyes widened as her breathing increased. She hissed as they all turned to look at me. Feeling slightly taken aback, I put up my hands as to try and calm the tension. "What is your decision, Queen Luna?" Primary Ley'La asked again.

I remained speechless for a while longer, my eyes wide. "Answer the question you foolish child! Are you going to betray me as well?!" the Primary spat. I furled my eye ridges and scrunched my nose.

"I'm with them," I replied, feeling harassed. She flared her nostrils in complete fury as she turned back towards Primary Ley'La who seemed completely calm.

"That foul creature is not worth my time anyways!" she roared. She stormed off into the trees and out of sight.

"I am pleased to have you as part of my alliance. You will be a great asset to your new sisters. This is Queen Mina. I suspect her skepticism about you will be relinquished very soon," Primary Ley'La smirked, looking satisfied about my decision as she pointed to the other Queen with her. "Walk with me," she motioned for me alone. I turned to look at Zerrix, feeling a little puzzled. He remained in attention, but I could see in his eyes that he was just as perplexed. "Do not worry, brother. I will only borrow her for a moment," she finished with a smirk.

We took a few strides away from the other queens who kept eyeing us. The look of annoyance as if we were gossipping about them was prevalent on all of their faces. "Queen Luna, you have the potential to become a great Queen. You are young and have impressed me with your decisions and sturdiness thus far. With that said, I have a task for you to do."

"What exactly am I supposed to do?" I asked, feeling slightly deceived by her flattering words.

"Your Hive is the only one with wings. I want you to teach us how to fly." There was a small time of silence between us. I blinked, realizing she meant the Atlantean ship.

"I do not possess the correct tools nor elements to help you build more ships," I replied, feeling unprepared.

"How much time do you need?" she asked unmoved.

"I would have to do a lot of pondering...I dreamt about something recently that might be more manageable-"

"I am holding a Council of the Queens at the summer solstice. There are many things we must discuss as the queens of our planet; one of them being our depleting food supply. I will propose that you would be our Keeper while we sleep instead of our usual hostess. The other queens will need convincing. You must prepare something worth their time for them to consider you to be our Keeper. By doing so, it will buy you the time you need to properly construct whatever it is that you dreamt. Can you do that?" she interrupted, folding her arms.

I paused, pondering her heavy proposal. Feeling the pressure, I concluded that it was my duty to aid them. I nodded my head with a half smile. Her smirk returned. She inclined her head, "Good. We'll leave you then to tend to your creativity." Turning on her heels, she walked back towards the other queens. "We take our leave!"

Arrogantly, they all dispersed in the directions of their hives. Slowly walking back to the ship, Zerrix came over to me. "If I may be so bold as to ask, what did she say to you?"

"She wants me to build ships for everyone," I replied still in a bit of a daze. "How many Hives are there exactly?"

"If what she said was true about another Hive being taken, then, there are now only one hundred and thirty-four. However, that number will increase with the hatching of the eggs that are scattered abroad." My eyes widened as I glanced back up at him. What did I just agree to? I wanted to crawl back into bed. "My Queen, I can sense that you are in slight distress. May I take you somewhere calming?" he asked thoughtfully. I nodded my head as he guided me in the direction that we would take. The walk wasn't far as I heard the sound of rushing waters. The foliage opened up to reveal a small waterfall streaming into a pond. The crystal clear water emptied into a stream that flowed south. The view was picturesque and instantly soothing to my eyes.

I exhaled as I quickly sat down next to the bank. Removing my shoes, I dipped my feet into the crisp water. "This is perfect…" I sighed, blocking out my task at hand. Closing my eyes, I remained motionless as the water rolled across my feet. "What does the title 'Keeper' mean?"

"The Keeper is the queen designated to watch over the entirety of Wraith as we slumber for an extended period of time. She provides us with an alarm when the time is right to rise once again. Your rest was merely a blink of an eye compared to the length we have slept before," he expounded.

"How long have you had to sleep?" I asked, peering over at him with interest.

"The first time must have been around twenty years. I remember waking to find Lex'Zvas ready to hatch. The second time was about the same amount of years. We needed to sleep to allow our food supply to grow in numbers," he explained matter-of-factly.

"Caspita…" I whispered, astounded. Wraith were much more complex than I thought. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more. I sat passively as he came and sat next to me, his back facing the water. "So, I'm supposed to present something at some meeting your sister is having on the summer solstice. I'm not really sure what I should bring."

He looked up into the trees and watched the leaves dance on their branches in the breeze. "Anything Lantean would surely impress," he suggested.

"True, but I want it to be something uniquely new. Something…something…something Wraith," I let my thoughts speak aloud. He smirked as I continued to contemplate. He brought his fingers up to my face and pushed some of my hair to the side. I smiled. "You're more confident now. There is a difference than from when you rescued me."

Looking away, he chuckled to himself. "There has been a change. These past several months have been quite liberating. You have given me a new perspective on things that I had never thought possible. The way you view opportunities and challenges are unlike any Wraith I have encountered. You are very passionate in all aspects of life, and for those reasons, I am enchanted by you," he responded looking over at me again.

I couldn't describe the rush of emotions I felt at that point. Bringing my feet up out of the water, I turned my body so as the water was behind me, brought my knees up to my face, rested my cheek against them, and wrapped my arms around them. "Your sister commented briefly about something you believe. She said it was why you work so hard to protect me. If it's not too personal, what did she mean?" I asked.

He exhaled, glancing at the ground. His face got more serious. "I may not find the words elegant enough to properly describe it, but there were rumors or legends of an angel who would watch over us. As part of the revelation, at some point, she would descend and take our form. When that were to happen, she would change our fate. Many Wraith have lost sight of this and lost faith that it would happen."

"And you believe that's me?" I asked quietly, feeling overcome.

"I was doubtful at first, but the more I am in your presence, the more I am convinced."

"That is why you named me 'Angel'..." I trailed off, burying my face into my knees. His beliefs about me were overwhelming to my emotions. I didn't want to let him down.

"It wasn't my intentions to upset you, my Queen," he asserted, scooting closer to me. I let out a great sigh as the unsettling feelings sunk deeper. Sitting up to look at him, I tried to smile.

"That is an incredible honor you have bestowed upon me. The last thing I desire to do is not live up to it," I commented with heaviness in my heart.

"You have not disappointed me thus far and I am certain you will not," he reassured. Inhaling deeply, he paused. "If I may be so bold…" He slowly picked up one of my hands with his. I held my breath as I watched, curiously. Interlocking our fingers, he pressed his palm against mine. I gasped as our feeding organs united, experiencing my first Wraith kiss. Placing his fingertips under my chin, he brought my face up to his as he leaned in close. Our breath was unsteady against each other's face as our lips touched. My eyes closed at the contact as I placed my free hand around his neck, keeping him close to me. Our lips parted as he placed his other hand around my back. We both slowly exhaled as we released both contacts, resting our foreheads against one another. My emotions peaked at a whole new level as I was completely certain that my own inner feelings were reciprocated. My body shook slightly as my heart rate slowed its elevation. "I was never ignorant, my Queen...Only amazed that such a magnificent creature would take notice to one of the faceless." I smiled softly as he pressed his lips against my forehead.

Scrunching my eye ridges, the moment was ruined when I felt as if something was wrong. The feeling flooded over the both of us as he turned his head and examined the treetops. Hearing the discharge of a weapon, my eyes widened. Zerrix growled, shoving my body away from him as the burst of energy directly collided against his chest. This knocked him onto his back, his torso dipping slightly in the water. His body twitched as green electricity surged from his chest over his whole body. I found the culprit of the blast lurking in the trees. "That will teach you to invade my workspace!" Tirrian yelled with a pleased look in his eyes.

The scream I experienced in my rage was unlike any I had exhaled before. The shrill was earsplitting and shrieked through the air. Tirrian cupped his ears from the sound, dropping his weapon. Something snapped inside me that I couldn't control. "Mark my words, Tirrian! You've opened the door that cannot be shut! There will be nowhere in the universe that you can have refuge! I will find you!" I screeched ferociously.

Allowing him to escape, my attention went back to Zerrix. His eyes were shut and he wasn't breathing. I bolted over to him and checked for life signs. My body shook as the tears of fury flowed freely.

He was dead.


	6. Chapter 5-Send the Pain Below

**WRITER'S NOTE: I introduce more of the Hive in this chapter. It is also a little intimate, in a sort of precious sort of way. I tried to bring in the senses with my word choice. I wanted you to feel what they do and to connect to them emotionally. Hopefully I succeeded...

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe (c) 2014

Chapter 5

Send the Pain Below

-"Send the Pain Below" by Chevelle - This song oddly inspired Zerrix's state of being during the chapter.

-"Fire In My Eyes" by Fireflight - This song helps magnify Luna'Ari's ever increasing determination

-"The Last Song" by 12 Stones - This song is rather precious, alluding to Zerrix's emotions for Luna'Ari in this chapter. I absolutely love this song! I find it very sweet...it'll probably continue to inspire me as their admiration grows.

Dragging his body out of the water, I knelt down next to him and cradled his head in my arms as I wept. The rage I was feeling was overwhelming. A burning fire exploded within me. I wanted revenge! Too many people had died at Tirrian's hand. He needed to be stopped, and I was going to stop him.

I gasped, palming my face as an obvious realization flooded over me. Was Zerrix revivable? How did Wraith do that again? Skimming through my memories, I tried to remember how I was resurrected. They always seemed to have their palm on the chest in feeding position…but how did they give the life back to the body? I exhaled in exasperation, willing to try anything at that point. Quickly undoing his belts and jacket, I hesitated. Slowly and articulately placing my palm against his skin just below the collarbone, I waited. Was I doing it right? Groaning, I pressed in my feeding organ, breaking the skin. No life came into my suction. Oddly, I felt the presence of my entire Hive walk up behind me and pause. Paying no attention to them, I concentrated, focussing on the giving to Zerrix instead of the taking. Flinching, I felt my energy slowly drain out of my hand and into his body. I began feeling weaker. His eyes shot open as he quickly drew in air. He coughed loudly taking deep breaths. I had done it! He was alive again!

Instant relief flooded my being as I removed my hand from his chest. Glancing over my shoulder, my entire Hive was staring at me with utmost amazement. "Xar! There's a weapon that fell to the ground just beyond those trees. Go retrieve it and bring it to me!" I commanded. He bowed his head and quickly ran to where I indicated and returned, bringing the long rifle. It was slender and lightweight. An instant epiphany hit my being. I could transform this into a Wraith defensive weapon and present it to the Council of the Queens. Zerrix gently grabbed hold of my arm, breaking my train of thought. I glanced down at him and smiled with concern on my face. "How are you feeling? You saved my life once again."

Cupping his hand over where the energy blast had hit his chest, he mumbled, "Unfortunately, I am not well." Leaning in closer, I could see his veins slowly turning grey, spreading up his collarbone. Pulling down his shirt to examine more fully, his skin was turning a corpse grey as well that was also expanding across his skin. My eyes widened in horror.

"Xar! Syrisx! Vorrin! Carry him to my ship! I need to examine him with some medical supplies!" I roared, feeling panicked. I dreaded what was happening, hoping it wasn't what I was thinking. The three men promptly came over and hoisted Zerrix's body up. His large stature proved difficult, but their athletic bodies were powerful enough to achieve the task. "Hurry! We leave this place!" I continued to the rest of the Hive, catching Lex'Zvas' facial expression. He was concerned, and I felt his pain. What seemed like seconds, we were back at the ship. I lowered the door. Placing the weapon carefully on the floor, I frantically searched inside the boxes that were stored in the compartment shelving above the seats. Xar, Syrisx, and Vorrin walked in and carefully set Zerrix's body down on the mattress I had slept on. Zerrix was sweating profusely and his breathing was extremely heavy. Groaning in consternation, I quickly found what I was looking for. The small hand held computer lit up with life once it touched my fingers. "Remove his shirt! I need to scan him!"

The three men detached his belts, jacket, and pulled his shirt off, revealing the canker slowly spreading across his chest. My hands were shaking as I pressed the screen and held it over the scourge. I noticed Lex'Zvas at the opening of the ship in my peripheral vision. "No! No, no, no, no!" I repeated over and over again in hysteria as the device beeped in my hand, displaying the results of the disease. Chucking it angrily to the side, my worst fears were realized. I turned to look at Lex'Zvas and the others as the tears quickly formed in my eyes.

"What is it, my Queen?" Zerrix asked calmly. Shaking my head and cupping my face in my hands, I began to weep. I didn't know how to tell him.

"Uh…" my voice quivered as I looked over at him. He looked more ill by the minute. The disease was spreading past his shoulders and to his arms by that point. He brought his hand to my face and caressed, wiping away the tears with his thumb. I took a deep breath. "The blast implanted in your body…one of the worst plagues that my people have ever encountered. We thought we had rid ourselves of the foulness…but, of course, Tirrian would have some form of it!" I felt my animosity rise towards Tirrian. "I don't know how to cure this! Once it reaches your brain, all hopes are lost!"

The men all looked at me with puzzlement on their faces. There was a moment of silence as the information sunk in. Lex'Zvas had a sudden realization come over him. "My Queen, we may have a solution. It is rather barbaric and the results are not always favorable," he began.

My eyes widened as I looked over at him with a glimmer of hope. "Continue!"

"The cleansing suction of one of the queen insects would rid my brother's body of the disease," he explained. I gasped. It seemed so simple. "The only barrier we would have to overcome is to remove the queen from him before she kills him."

Frowning, I furled my eye ridges and nibbled my bottom lip. Turning back to Zerrix, I looked him in the eyes. "I will do it, my Queen. Anything to rid me of this current torment," he replied.

I turned my head towards the men. "Go! All of you! And find a queen! He needs to be cleansed as soon as possible!" They quickly left the ship, leaving Zerrix and me alone. I picked up his hand and held it close to my face. He caressed me once again. I closed my eyes and kissed his palm as the tears continued to flow freely. "I'm sorry these ridiculous things keep happening to you…" I mumbled.

He smirked, intertwining his fingers in my hair. "Protecting the 'angel of fate' is bound to have its side effects, my Queen Luna'Ari. Every moment is worth the risk." We sat in quietness as the conflict inside me continue to rage. I needed him. Tirrian wasn't going to take him away from me! "A sample of your thoughts, my Queen?" he asked so innocently. Smiling at his charm, I slowly leaned forward and kissed him. Our lips parted as he wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I released and rested my head against his shoulder, feeling his elevated heartbeat. "Are you sure I am not contagious?" he asked, kissing the top of my head.

I laughed quietly as he glided one of his hands on my shoulder and arm. "I'm positive," I replied, running my fingertips up his other arm, interlocking our fingers, and pressing my palm against his. The sensation was just as surreal as the first time.

His hand slid off my shoulder to the floor as his grip loosened on my hand. I quickly sat up and looked down at him. His physical weakness was palatable. Ripping the gauntlet off my arm, I placed the back of my hand on his forehead, I felt the heat; a fever was burning. He looked miserable and frail. The deep circles underneath his eyes were ghastly. I was not used to seeing him in this state of being, and I hated it. Anxiety began to flood over me again as the plague was spreading up his neck and to his hands. "Hang in there, okay? We're going to pull you through this. The others will be here soon with the cure," I tried to comfort, not even convincing myself. "You must stay conscious! What does 'Luna'Ari' mean?" I asked with worry emanating from my entire being.

"It means 'angel of fate'..." he repeated himself. His breathing was extremely shallow and his eyes seemed very heavy. I tilted my head to the side and tried to smile.

"It's beautiful. Is that my name now? I am truly honored."

"Yes, if you desire, for that is what you are to this Hive. The rest of the queens will eventually see it as well…" he slowly closed his eyes. I panicked and rushed behind him, elevating his body into a sitting position to rest against mine.

"You must stay awake, Zerrix! The plague will only spread more quickly if you fall asleep!" I began to cry again. "Keep talking to me! Please! Why did all of the Hive find us and make their way to the water?"

"...You called them in your alarm...the loud shrill brought them to you...I heard it as well before I passed…" I could see the canker spreading to his back. Holding him tight, I buried my face into his shoulder and continued crying, feeling as if a part of me were dying as well. I felt one of his hands on the top of my head. "...I was not surprised when your Hive stood in amazement upon bringing me back...a queen has rarely revived one of her Hive...she would not waste precious life force on another...the task is usually given to one of our brothers…I am astonished once again at your generosity…"

I smiled softly and kissed the side of his neck. "Well, I-" I began rather nervously but was interrupted by Lex'Zvas and the others who carried a large bag in their arms.

"Forgive our tardiness, my Queen. She was difficult to find and even more difficult to retrieve, but we have her," Lex'Zvas presented grabbing the bag from Syrisx. He carefully lifted the covering of the pouch and reached inside. I could hear a hissing from inside the sack. He slowly lifted the insect out. Gasping, she was menacing and looked exactly like the beast that attacked me months ago except considerably smaller about the size of a very large lobster. She held her four legs out in attempts to appear larger and more intimidating like the way a taranchula behaves towards its predators. She whipped her long tail from side to side angrily. The sight was horrifying as I began to regret agreeing to this.

Lex'Zvas carefully placed the insect queen on Zerrix's chest. Cradling his head against my shoulder, I was terrified as the queen's black eyes seemed lifeless and hungry. She slowly climbed up his chest and paused at his neck. Almost mockingly slow, she wrapped her legs one by one around his neck. Zerrix cringed in pain as she dug her pincers into his skin. His shallow breathing became staggered. We all watched in apprehensive silence as she continued to drain him. A glimmer of hope trickled into my being as I glanced down at his body. The greyness of his skin was fading away to the normal color as the contaminated veins retreated to where she was leeching.

We heard her start hissing again once the disease was clear of his body. Her bombilate was loud until it suddenly stopped. Releasing her hold on him, she toppled into his lap, her legs curled in on themselves twitching slightly. We all paused confused as an awkward silence blanketed over us. "Is she dead?" I eventually asked in shock. Lex'Zvas cautiously picked up the insect and examined.

"Most fortunate for us, it appears so. Prying her off was going to be the challenge, but it seems as if the plague filled blood she suctioned has killed her," he replied looking just as surprised. He placed the dead carcass in the bag again and folded it over. I sighed as I could feel Zerrix's breathing more deeply and steadily.

"You are all truly remarkable…" I began thoughtfully. "All of my advanced technologies could not save him, but your incredible simplicity was more genius than all of it combined." They all smiled slightly and bowed their heads. "Go and retrieve some food for your Lord," I commanded as a peaceful relief engulfed my entire being once again. They bowed and left the ship, leaving us alone once more. Zerrix lifted his hand and rubbed where the insect once gripped. Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips against the other side of his neck. "How are you feeling? You appear to have recovered a substantial amount."

"My health has improved greatly; much of my strength has returned despite my physical tiredness. I must say, I much prefer your lips against my skin than that of the insect queen," he commented chuckling. I smiled as I rested my head against his shoulder.

"I am relieved that your body has been purged of the plague," I sighed. "Tirrian will answer to all of the crimes that he has committed against you and your people."

He chuckled quietly again as he placed his hand on my head once more to caress my hair. "You are the only queen I believe capable of doing so. Forgive me, my Queen, for not being strong enough today..." Shaking my head slightly, I smiled as I brought my face to him again and softly pecked his neck and jawline. Twisting his torso towards me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and slowly pulled me in front of him. Holding me carefully in his arms like an infant, he brought me to his face and kissed me. We stayed like that for some long amorous moments. My senses exploded with euphoria as he ran his fingers through the roots of my hair, keeping me close. Placing my hand on the back of his neck, I could feel his exhale on my face. The rush of emotions was unreal; I couldn't have felt more exhilarated. Pulling away, I opened my eyes as he looked into mine. "Your restlessness has left you fatigued," he began as he kissed my forehead. "You must feed as well." I brushed some of his silvery hair behind his ear and caressed his face with my hand. Sensing the heaviness of my eyes due to the excess shedding of tears, I repositioned myself to sit in his lap. Feeling the temperature of his forehead with my hand again, I was glad that his body was cooling itself down. Closing my eyes, I snuggled up next to him.

"Is life in the Hive always this exhaustingly eventful?"

He exhaled with a laugh. "Hardly. Time passed rather slowly before you came."

I smiled again, opening my eyes. Noticing Tirrian's weapon was at my feet, I nuzzled my nose against his cheek and kissed him one more time as I sat up straight. "You should rest until the others get here with the food. Your body just experienced an intense amount of trauma," I smiled, gently pushing his chest.

"Very well, my Queen," he laid down obediently with a small smirk. Sliding on my knees towards the weapon, I picked it up and turned my body to sit towards him. He readjusted himself to lay on his side as he watched me examine the rifle.

"Go to sleep!" I teased feeling a little self-conscious. His smile widened as he closed his eyes. He looked peaceful, which was refreshing to see. Exhaling, my attention went back to the gun. I slowly disassembled it, removing the capsules filled with the plague. If I could just saturate the virus inside, then, I could use the capsules as some sort of energy blast to immobilize our enemy. I sighed, I didn't want the gun to kill though. We would need our prey alive in order to maintain the life force. Furling my eye ridges, I scratched my head. I peered over at Zerrix. His breathing was deep as he appeared to have drifted off into a slumber. He deserved it, looking as exhausted as he did after all that he had endured today. I smiled as I quietly took in a deep breath and exhaled.

Rubbing my temples with my fingers, I continued to try and find a solution to clean the capsules. Glancing out of the back of the ship, I saw Lex'Zvas in the distance with Xar, Syrisx, Vorrin, and the four men I vaguely remember introduced as the other scientists of the Hive. Syrisx was carrying a cocoon over his shoulder with ease. Quietly standing up, I made my way to intercept them. They paused and bowed their heads as I drew near. "At ease gentlemen. Syrisx, place that over by the ship. He is asleep right now, and he shall remain that way for as long as his body needs," I said softly. He bowed his head and carried the cocoon over to the ship and carefully placed it on the ground next to it. "I want you three to watch over him. If there is any change in his health, inform me immediately," I motioned to Xar, Vorrin, and Syrisx as he made his way back to us. They bowed and walked to the ship where they posted themselves outside of it. Turning towards Lex'Zvas and the others, I continued, "You five are to aid me with something. I need some fresh minds to bounce off ideas."

"Of course, my Queen," Lex'Zvas commented as they all bowed their heads towards me. They followed me back to the ship as I entered taking care to not make a sound. Gathering up the parts of the rifle, I carried them outside to where they waited.

"Let us go off a distance as to not disturb him with our discussions." They bowed as Lex'Zvas took the lead. As we were walking through the foliage on a traveled dirt path, I glanced at the different men with us. Curiosity struck me once again as I examined them individually. They were all rather thin in their builds with lean muscle structuring their tall bodies. The two men to my farthest right had icy blue eyes which was beautiful to see and seemed very rare on Wraith. I concluded that they were twins due to their identical facial structure that was square and narrow. Their skin was a very pale green with light brown greying hair that lengthened to their shoulders. The one closest to me wore his tied back at the base of his neck. The other one managed to slick his hair elegantly backwards. They had facial hair that was interchangeable with that of Lex'Zvas. They both had the same style uniform that Lex'Zvas wore but with only one belt instead of two around their waist. "What are your names?" I asked them. They both looked over at me simultaneously.

"I am Frinx, my Queen," the one with the ponytail introduced, bowing.

"I am Forrix," replied the other bowing as well. I smiled at them, noting that they both gave off a playful aura much like Lex'Zvas. They returned with a smirk on their faces.

The two men at my left wore black leather outfits very similar to that of a commander, except the zipper line down the front of the jacket was covered with decorative fabric designs of the "Hive Pride" winged shapes. The one on the farthest left looked familiar. His resemblance was that of Xar, and I wondered if they were related somehow. His eyes were the same goldenrod as Xar's and he shared the same facial structure. His hair was a long dark brown that was streaked with silvery grey strands. It lengthened to his shoulder blades and was pulled back in a half ponytail with a small braid. His facial hair was similar to Zerrix's except when it lengthened off his chin, it intertwined in a braid as well. "And you are?" I asked him, politely.

"Tarsis," he bowed. I nodded my head in return. Finally, the Wraith next to me had a younger looking face with no grey strands in his blonde hair. It was short and only lengthened to the base of his chin, falling rather messily and framing his face. He didn't have any facial hair which made him appear even younger. In all honesty, he literally looked as if he were no older than twenty-one. His eyes were a dark forest green that were intense due to his serious facial expression that he apparently always wore. His skin was a pale avocado which stood out against his black uniform.

"And who are you?" I asked him, smiling. He glanced over at me and his expression got more acute. This startled and confused me, wondering what I had done to offend him.

"None of us know his designation, my Queen," Lex'Zvas said in front of us. "He only disclosed it to our former queen. His birth was shortly followed by her abduction, and in his state of bereavement, he has yet to say a word since her death."

I felt a sudden sadness come over me. This Wraith was in mourning and I wanted to assist in any way possible. "I truly am sorry for her loss. She gave me life once, which from what I understand, is extremely generous. She died making a stand for her people."

He kept my gaze for a moment. Turning to look forward, he quietly mumbled, "She was my sister…" There was pain felt in his words. The other men with us all turned their heads and stared in surprise. His youthfulness continued to show as he looked down angrily. I noticed the tears form in his eyes as he tried to hold them back, his face growing more and more enraged. Slowly wrapping an arm around him, I held him close. He was shaking. "I must avenge her!"

"I know where the tyrant lurks. I know his ways. Have a little faith in me and I will deliver the beast unto those he has tortured. I need your aid for I don't know the planet as well as you do. Your minds are brilliant and full of new ideas that even he has yet to think of. Will you help me?"

"Yes, my Queen…" he paused, pulling away from my embrace. "My name is Zilas."

I smiled. "The honor is mine." A satisfaction was sensible in the air as a peace flooded over us. The determination to get this weapon transformed was unifying. I felt more empowered to stop Tirrian, to end his corruption. The more I got to know my Hive, the more I understood their desire for reprisal. Sharing the need, I was resolute.


	7. Chapter 6 - Take Out the Gunman

**WRITER'S NOTE: So, this chapter has some Wraith anatomy that I don't ever remember being explained in the actually TV series, so I made up my own. Hopefully it makes sense.

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe (c) 2014

Chapter Six

Take Out the Gunman

-"Take Out the Gunman" by Chevelle - this song was an obvious choice for the title of the chapter. First off, I fell in love with the relatively chill feel of this song from the first moment I heard it! Just had to throw that out there! Second, as the war with Tirrian starts to get more intense, this song helped give the vibes of where it all started.

-"I'm So Sick" by Flyleaf - as Luna'Ari continues to learn more about her Wraith side, she begins to give in to the intense emotions that come out as repercussion. This song was rather inspiring as she used her developing 'ability of suggestion' to bring an enemy to his knees.

-"Stay Alive" by Trapt - surviving is the one motive that drives the Hive and not just passively. They must be aggressive.

We shortly arrived at a cave entrance. Ducking under the rock, we entered and stood up straight as the cavern opened and became very spacious. Glancing around, I marveled at the accessibility. There were smooth stones of various sizes attached to the walls that glew in the dark giving off a generous amount of light. The twilight brightness felt intimate as the apparent living space was visible. The entire surface of the cave was covered in the reddish brown organic material that I had previously seen in Zerrix's cave and the Arena. "What is this place?" I asked with great interest.

Lex'Zvas walked into the center of the room and turned towards us. Holding his arms out to the side, he bowed as a showman. "Welcome to my humble abode, my Queen," he began. "My sleeping quarters are to your left and my workspace is to the right. It is not much, but it meets my needs."

"It is very charming," I smiled placing the rifle on his table. "Tell me, what exactly is this? And where does it come from?" I asked running my hand along the muscled wall. "It coated the Arena and the access of the cave where Zerrix kept watched over me."

"As Wraith, we secrete a pathogen that tends to grow along the surface of our dwellings. It is durable and regenerative," Lex'Zvas expounded with a sly smirk on his face. My eyes widened as I quickly pulled my hand away from the wall. Everything suddenly felt unsanitary as I shuddered slightly. My uneasiness must have been apparent because they all smiled widely.

"It is not contaminated, my Queen. We are not contagious..." Forrix commented, laughing. "For the most part…"

"In fact, the pathogen of the Queen is far more potent and effective than that of ours," Frinx added playfully. Suddenly feeling very introvert, I held my arms close to my body and stepped ever so closer to the entrance. Queasy at my own anatomy, I didn't want to touch anything. "You can control when and where you secrete it."

"Please, my Queen, you are overreacting. It is natural for Wraith. Our biology does derive from insects. Most of us are born from egg sacks; we wrap our prey in cocoons; we are capable of climbing vertical surfaces; and we live in dark, damp caves. We are not as sophisticated as the Lanteans," Tarsis continued almost mockingly. My eyes widened even further.

"YOU wrap them in the cocoon?" I blurted feeling shocked. They all laughed at my dumbfoundedness. "But, how?" They all held up one of their palms and pointed at the tiny holes along the feeding organ. My mouth fell agape as I shot my palm to my face and examined it; I felt more spider-like by the second. "Caspita! No offense, but I feel so repulsive!"

"No need to be melodramatic, my Queen. After all, you are very stunning, you are admired by your Hive, and have captured the fondness of my brother. It is easily sensed that this is shared by you, and he is just of an insectoid as we are," Lex'Zvas smiled a toothy grin. "You should be honored to have a more exotic biology than that of the humans." I pursed my lips trying not to smile, not gathering that our new relationship was so obvious to the entire Hive. Lex'Zvas continued to smile, "Now, what is it that we need to discuss?" They all stood with their hands behind their backs and waited.

Shutting my eyes, I realized how ridiculous I was behaving; I smiled at my absurdity. Taking a deep breath, I exhaled as I turned and picked up one of the capsules from the rifle. "Alright, this is filled with the plague that infected Zerrix. We need to saturate it from these capsules. I believe we could fill it with something more paralytic that would stun our enemies rather than kill them. The questions are, how do we clean them? and what can we fill them with?" They all paused as they contemplated.

"Out of sheer curiosity, my Queen, what were the complete effects of the plague? What was it doing to his body?" Lex'Zvas asked furling his eye ridges.

"It's a disease of the blood that kills the skin cells as well. It spreads in the blood stream, destroying blood cells as it makes its way to the brain. Once it reaches the brain, it suffocates it until the victim dies. The disease is spread through injection or exposure. Thankfully, it is not contagious through touch. A pest on one of the planets that we colonized spread it to the people, killing most of them. Calling us for aid, we reluctantly went to their rescue facing casualties as well. The colonies went on a riot and the epidemic went extinct. That was about five years ago," I explained feeling melancholy from my memories of the pandemic. Squinting his eyes, Lex'Zvas walked over to me and picked up a piece of technical equipment from his work table.

"Is this the language that you speak when you contemplate?" he asked handing it to me. I glanced down and read the Atlantean. "I have been trying to decode the encryption, but it has proven difficult. I do not understand what is written."

I furled my eye ridges as I continued to read. "This is the language of my people...translating it for you to understand, it's of various observations on the psychic influence of Wraith. These must be Tirrian's notes…" I continued to read silently to myself. My eyes widened as I lifted my eye ridges at the information. Could Wraith really take over the will of another? Was the power of suggestion possible with their psyche? It all seemed compelling. Shaking my head, I was side tracked; we needed to get back to our goal. "...Um, I will teach you the written language of my people in time, but we have a pressing matter to deal with. We need some sort of defense in case Tirrian attacks again."

"Of course, I was merely intrigued," Lex'Zvas paused. Silence flooded over us as we continued to contemplate the solutions to the rifle.

"What killed the plague on that planet?" Forrix asked.

"They killed the animals that carried it and then burned the remains," I responded.

"Water perhaps?" Tarsis suggested.

"It flows through the bloodstream. Water would only act as a carrying agent."

"Heat has cleansing properties if taken to a certain temperature," Frinx proposed stroking his facial hair. My face lit up, that was it!

"That's perfect! We can use heat to purge the plague! We just need to find something hot enough to kill the virus." I felt more eager; we were closing in on the solution. "Besides the initial shot from the energy blast, what could we replace the plague with? What has partial paralytic properties?"

"Well, we do, my Queen," Zilas spoke up. Our attention went to him. The other men were seemingly not used to him speaking. He looked around and back at me as if he felt slightly out of place.

"Go on," I encouraged with a smile. His response was intriguing.

He smirked slightly. "When we feed, do we not transmit a chemical to our prey that renders them relatively motionless?"

"He's right, my Queen," Frinx backed him up. The men looked impressed.

"Well done, Zilas. That's the solution," my smile widened. "How do we extract the chemical from our bodies?"

"It would be more prevalent from a Wraith who has recently fed. We can use my brother, for example, for he is the one who would be the most current," Lex'Zvas added. "Surely we can build a fire hot enough to saturate it, or better yet, your Lantean ship might be able to aid us."

I was floored by their ingenuity. They solved the problems within minutes of discussion. "You are all prodigies!" I exclaimed very pleased. "Let us return to the ship! We can use the heat from the engines to cleanse them. There are some medical supplies that we can use to extract the chemical from Zerrix as well. Come!"

We all felt satisfied with purpose in our step as we quickly returned to my ship. My heart fluttered as I saw that Zerrix had awoken from his rest. He looked healthy, probably regenerating after feeding off of the cocoon. "Zerrix!" I hollered from a distance. His attention went to us as he gave a wide toothy grin. "Zerrix, have you fed?" I asked, jogging right up to him as best as I could in my heels.

"Yes, my Queen. I feel as if I was never tainted by the disease."

"Good! Now we need to extract the feeding chemical from you!" I proclaimed brushing the side of his face with my hand as I walked past him to the inside of the ship. His confused and curious gaze followed me as I found a long syringe. Striding back down the ramp, I paused at his side and looked over at Lex'Zvas and the other scientists. "Where do I insert this?" I asked as we both sat down on the ramp.

"Within the small apertures by the feeding organ, my Queen," Lex'Zvas responded walking up to us. He took Zerrix's right forearm and began explaining, "Using his dominant feeding hand, these apertures along the top are for the chemical. There are vein like channels that carry the chemical to the apertures from a sack located on the posterior of the forearm. It is padded by the muscles," he used his thumb and pointer finger and ran it along the top of Zerrix's forearm outlining where his large dominant muscle lay. Turning his arm over, he continued, "The enzyme and viscous fibers we use to wrap our prey are connected through the middle and lower apertures of the palm, and they are also stored in sacks. The enzyme runs under the larger and more muscular side of the anterior arm; whereas, the viscous fibers are stored under the less dominant muscle. Do you have any questions?"

"I believe I understand. Thank you Lex'Zvas," I smiled. Looking Zerrix in the eyes, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, but this might feel a little strange." Slowly grabbing his hand, I carefully turned his palm over. Holding it, I meticulously inserted the small needle into one of the top openings near the base of his fingers; there was resistance. His hand twitched slightly. I paused, glancing up at him as I pulled it out again. "Sorry!"

"I'm fine. What are you doing?" he asked furling his eye ridges.

"We need the chemical that is transmitted to the other body through feeding. I'll explain more momentarily. Please, you must hold still," I insisted. He nodded his head. I focussed once again at the task. Turning the syringe so that it was completely level with his hand, I slowly reinserted the needle into one of the holes. It glided more easily this time until I felt it hit a barrier. Holding my breath, I pushed it in further, piercing whatever it was that was blocking. Zerrix pursed his lips, trying to keep from flinching.

"That is far enough, my Queen! You have reached it!" Zerrix mentioned as calmly as possible. He was clutching tightly on the fabric of his pants. Squinting my eyes, I slowly pulled up on the back of the syringe, filling the tube with the clear substance. When it reached its full capacity, I carefully removed the needle. We both exhaled once it was free. "Well done, my Queen," Zerrix mumbled under his breath rubbing his palm and forearm with his other hand. I smiled, breathing rather heavily. My heart was pumping from my previous nervousness. The scientists and Zerrix's brigade all made congratulatory comments at the success of extraction. Resting my cheek against his shoulder, I smiled.

"Good job," I quietly breathed, kissing his shoulder.

"Have I interrupted anything?" we heard a voice say. We all turned in his direction. It was Primary Ley'La's First in Command. "Please, continue. I am only here for observational purposes. My Queen has high hopes for you and has sent me here to report on your progress."

"We are working on something for the occasion. You are always welcome amongst my Hive," I said acceptingly. "Where is the lad that was with you previously?"

"My son? He is with my Queen. He must protect his mother whilst I'm away," he smirked proudly. I found that very sweet. Wraith were very territorial when it came to their family relations. I wished some Atlanteans were more protective. This particular Wraith gave off the same elegance and gentlemanly demeanor that Zerrix had, which was also very charming. "What is your breakthrough?" he asked walking closer to us.

Standing up, I motioned towards the rifle pieces behind me, "This was used as an offensive weapon against us recently by the Atlantean scientist. I plan on transforming it with the help of my brilliant Hive into something more to our use."

"I offer my assistance," he bowed. I smiled and nodded. The more imaginations I could have at my disposal the better.

The sun rose and set twice as we vigorously explored the possibilities of how to connect the capsules to the engines of the ship. We weren't having much success. "The issue we still run into is the excess amount of heat. The engines are simply too hot! We would melt the capsules before we could properly saturate the plague within!" I groaned in frustration. We were all tired with our ideas running scarce. I sat down on the ramp and rubbed my temples with my fingertips.

"Perhaps a short recess would clear our thoughts, my Queen," Lex'Zvas suggested stretching his muscles. I nodded my head as I gathered my knees to my face and softly buffeted my forehead against them. Zerrix came and sat down next to me. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he kissed my hair. I smiled as my heavy eyes looked up at him. His smirk was reassuring as I adjusted my body to lean against his. The rest of our Hive was in the clearing mingling amongst themselves. Primary Ley'La's First in Command was off to the side with Lex'Zvas talking about something intriguing as their faces were focussed on the discussion.

"What's his name?" I asked Zerrix as I glided my hand on his knee.

"In all honesty, I do not know. We usually keep our acquaintances within our home Hive itself. I am only more familiar with this particular Lord because he is my sister's spouse. Their son, Lex, was named after Lex'Zvas, and he has kept more in touch with the three of them," he said matter of factly.

"So Lex really is their son?"

"Yes, one of the few to have two Wraith as his parents rather than our insect relatives." he explained. I sighed as we sat in a relaxing silence. We saw Xar, Tarsis, and Forrix start pushing each other, playfully. Their voices grew louder as the Hive's attention went to them.

"You think you can defeat me? I am stronger than both of you combined!" Xar proclaimed with a wide smile on his face.

"I think your brother needs some humbling, Tarsis! Shall we bring him to his knees?" Forrix added to the taunting. I rolled my eyes and smiled as the men started betting on who would win.

"Just because you're a Soldier Drone, doesn't mean you can take us both!" Tarsis mocked. My smile widened as I thought about that bold statement. Zerrix was a 'Soldier Drone' and he defeated many in the Arena. Gasping, I jolted my body upright with a sudden epiphany.

"THAT'S IT!" I yelled jumping to my feet. All eyes went to me as I bolted into the ship. Kneeling down in the center of the floor behind the main control station, I dug my fingernails in the hatch and pulled up. The storage area popped open revealing the squid-like missiles the Atlanteans called Drones. Cautiously hauling one out, I held it in my arms and walked slowly back to the opening of the ship and knelt down in the dirt by the ramp. The men gathered in around me. "This is perfect!"

"What is that, my Queen?" Zerrix asked sharing the curiosity of everyone.

"I remember always laughing to myself when you would refer to your soldiers as 'drones' because that is what this is. Drones are Atlantean missiles that are accurate and devastating," I began with a huge grin on my face. They all took several steps backwards. Glancing up, "Oh do not worry, it is completely dormant right now. It will not erupt until it is told to." I reached between the flight stabilizing tentacles at the base of the drone and unscrewed the metal shell. Releasing pressure with a hiss, the compartment opened and slid out easily until the section I was looking for was visible for everyone to see. "This is the Power Core. It releases a substantial amount of heat. It's not as hot as the engines of the ship, but I am certain it is powerful enough to dissolve the plague." I grabbed one of the capsules and placed it next to it.

Commanding the ship to start with my mind, the Power Core lit up. Telling the Drone to power up, it began to glow a bright yellow and spin on the ground. Pulling some tongs from my pocket, I held the capsule against the grated metal cage of the core. The liquid within the capsule began to boil as the color changed from a deep red to a purple and finally to a bright neon blue. I commanded the Drone to power down as I pulled out a small computer from my other pocket. It stopped spinning and remained lifeless once again. Pressing the screen, it scanned the capsule. A small beep sounded as the results displayed as negative. We had done it! The plague had been purged! "Success!" I exclaimed as I held up the capsule high above my head. My Hive cheered and shared my excitement with clamour of clapping. Glancing up at Primary Ley'La's Lord, he held his hands behind his back with a smirk on his face. He looked impressed, and I could not feel more satisfied.

I continued the process to the other nineteen capsules from the rifle, handing them to the different men around me quickly. "Alright, hand me the syringe!" I said to Frinx behind me. He bowed and grabbed the syringe from one of the storage bins. Handing it to me, I carefully injected some of the chemical into the capsule. Repeating the process of handing and taking capsules from the various Wraith, I emptied the syringe. My anxiousness rose as I gathered up the parts of the rifle and began putting it back together. There was a pause of silence as I finished the assembly. I was in awe wondering if it would work. "Now, all we need to do is test it…" I commented almost passively as I continued to stare at it.

What sounded like the blast of a railgun, we heard a groan from Forrix. He looked down at his chest confused. His clothing and skin seared forming an ever growing hole in his chest. He gazed up at Frinx who was horrified. We shared his reaction as Forrix fell to the ground. Another shot was fired, this time hitting Tarsis. Primary Ley'La's Lord pulled a knife from his belt and threw it very hard towards the trees. It spun in the air gaining momentum until a loud smack echoed through the sky. There was a growl heard as a body fell to the ground. "WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" the Lord roared.

"PROTECT THE QUEEN!" Zerrix thundered. I groaned as I was lifted up and pushed inside the ship. Xar and Frinx quickly made their way to their brothers. Shutting my eyes in a frustrated sadness, their angry screams to the air confirmed the death of Forrix and Tarsis.

An army of Wraith came flooding towards us through the trees, roaring in a menacing mass. Zilas grabbed the rifle and ran in front of the men. Growling loudly, he began shooting as fast as possible. Blue energy came blasting out of the rifle, hitting the attacking Wraith one by one. They fell at the contact to the ground. Hesitating, they continued their advance. My Hive scrambled to grab their more simple weaponry.

My face grew solemn as the rage set in. Finding a personal shield from one of the storage bins, I pressed the black-striped, green, octagon device to my chest just below the collarbone. It suctioned and powered up. With the remote controller of the ship in hand and a small blade in the other, I quickly strided out of the ship, pushing my way through the men down the ramp. The invasion was near Zilas as I drew closer. "Zilas! Return to the ship!" I commanded sharply.

"But, my Queen-" he began.

"DO IT NOW!" I roared. Turning towards my men, "ALL OF YOU! STAY AS CLOSE TO THE SHIP AS POSSIBLE!" They obeyed as I waited for Zilas to reach them. Pressing a button on my remote, I encased them in the round shielding that surrounded the ship. Slowly turning towards the invading Wraith, I stared them down. They paused on their approach and formed a semicircle around me.

Remembering what Tirrian's notes had said, I decided to try an experiment of my own. Closing my eyes, I concentrated my mind deeply on my ship. Hearing it roar with life, I smirked as I continued to activate it. The retractable wings on either side of the ship exposed themselves. Opening my eyes, I smiled wickedly. "This is going to hurt." Two drones from the wings lit up and began humming as they shot towards the sky. Dancing in circles around each other they spun faster and faster until they collided with the ground in the middle of the enemy Wraith. The casualties were great as others not so close were blasted to the sides seriously injured. My shielding sent green sparks of energy as debris collided against it; I was unharmed.

My attention went to the single standing Wraith at the rear of the group. His eyes showed fear and complete violence. He was breathing heavily in shock as he glanced around the carnage. Slowly walking towards him through the wreckage, he began retreating. "NOT SO FAST! Where do you think you're going?!" My voice was echoing and more growly than before. As if he had no control over himself, he paused. Widening my eyes, I felt my mind enter his. There was resistance, but I held fast. The more I felt it, the easier it was. I reached him, making him turn towards me. His lips were pursed and his uneasiness was completely odorous. Baring my teeth, I yanked the small gun out of his hands. As if by a new instinct, I brought my fingers to his temples and commanded in my thoughts, "Kneel!" The word was audible to the ear as it echoed in the clearing and through the trees. Attempting to stay on his feet, he failed as he reached his knees. "What are you doing here?! Why have you attacked us and killed two of my men?!" I interrogated. My voice was eerily shrilly to the ears as the two tones were even more apparent.

He struggled continuously as he fought to stay silent. "ANSWER ME!"

"...the Lantean forced us to…promising that he would release our queen...only if we brought you back dead…he gave us those weapons to do so..." he growled angrily.

"And you believed him," I commented shaking my head and laughing quietly. I released my hold on his mind and turned my head to look over at my Hive. They all watched with stupefaction.

Roaring, the Wraith bolted to his feet and tried to tackle me. Holding the knife to his neck, I sighed. He halted and hesitated. "You are pathetic. Your queen is probably already dead. Tirrian lies to get what he wants. He has done it to your people and he has done it to his. There is no possible scenario where you can cause me harm. I have had one ridiculous trial after another thrown at me! Can't I just have a moment of peace? Can't I catch my breath?! I am FED UP!"

Twitching, his breathing was heavy as I dug the blade more in his skin. "Because I am feeling generous, I will only offer this once. You may join my Hive and help me stop the treacherous tyrant that is Tirrian, or I can hand you over to two very upset men of mine whose brothers you have murdered. Take your pick," I offered with sternness.

"I would rather die than join you! My queen spoke of you in disgust and how you are tainted with the blood of the Lanteans! You are an abomination!" he proclaimed angrily. Rolling my eyes, I pressed the button on the ship's remote that lowered the shields.

"I'll give you a head start," I finished venomously. Turning to walk away, he tried to grab me, but a blast of my shielding caused him to rebound. Unphased, I continued walking towards my ship as my Hive jogged in my direction. Finding Xar and Frinx, "Go and have yourselves a little hunting trip...and be creative." Their faces filled with fury as they sprinted after the rogue Wraith. "Clean up this mess," I motioned to the rest of my men as Zerrix, Lex'Zvas, and the other Lord paused in front of me.

"You truly are Queen Luna'Ari," the Lord commented quietly.

"Your assistance is no longer needed. Go and tell Primary Ley'La that things are running smoothly and that I am preparing a grand presentation for her and the other queens," I said coldly. He bowed his head and promptly left. "Have fun with this. I want a full diagnostic completed and reported to me," I continued, handing the gun to Lex'Zvas. His face was still in shock as he took the gun from me. He bowed and walked away as well.

I couldn't look Zerrix in the eye. After the initial rage faded, a frustrated sorrow engulfed my chest. Powering down my personal shield, it fell into my hand. Sighing, I walked past him and back into the ship. He reluctantly made it inside before I closed the door. "My Queen, you were terrifying, beautiful, and awe inspiring just now," he began.

"I was a monster..." I mumbled as guilt flooded over me. Hunching over, I cupped my face in my hands and cried in tortured pain. He exhaled and stood right behind me. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he held me close to him. I couldn't believe what I had done. It was as if someone else took over my body, yet I was in full control and fully aware. I levelled so many Wraith from that Hive with just a single thought to the Drones. Feeling overwhelmed, I felt queasy thinking about it.

"You prevented our deaths, my Queen, for we were gravely out numbered," he tried comforting.

"Tarsis is dead! Forrix is dead! All of those other Wraith were nothing but rubble at my feet!"

Zerrix exhaled loudly. "I can relate, my Queen, for the death of Narz still haunts me…" I turned towards him and saw the frustration in his eyes. "Even though he was an oppressor, he was still my brother…Forrix and Tarsis did not die in vain so long as we help you stop the Lantean monster who continues to terrorize us in horrifying ways."

He gathered me in his arms and stroked my hair. Although the pain remained, I was soothed by his words. It was Tirrian's fault! My loathing only grew as he continued to make things more personal. "He feels threatened...Tirrian, feels threatened by me! Why else would he continuously try to push me?"

"Your words make sense. You are part Lantean and pose a peril to his treachery. It is only a matter of time before his fall."

I sighed, resting my head against his chest. Hearing his slightly elevated heartbeat, I smiled. "Are you alright? Your heartbeat seems a little fast," I whispered.

"It is nothing to worry about...just another side effect of being around you…" he slightly chuckled. My smile widened as I lifted my face to his. Wrapping my arms around his neck, he held me tighter as we lips touched. His affection melted away more of my grief, but like always, the moment was interrupted, this time with a banging on the door.

"Of course...never alone in the Hive…" I breathed a laugh resting my forehead against his.

"You are the Queen. I mustn't be selfish; your Hive needs you," he sighed kissing my cheek. Softly tugging his hair, I brought his lips to mine once more.

Another knock sounded. Exhaling, I pulled away. "Gratias…" I whispered in his ear pecking his neck. The knocking continued. "Patience! I am coming!" I hollered slowly walking around Zerrix and to the door. Pressing the hatch, the ramp lowered. Vorrin and Syrisx along with other Soldiers with their Commanders from my Hive who I was not yet familiar with were gathered at the entrance. There were injured Wraith on their knees at my feet, their hands bound behind their backs. Some of them looked unconscious.

"My Queen, we present to you the surviving intruders. What are your plans for them?" Vorrin asked sternly.

"We shall have another ceremony tonight to honor Forrix and Tarsis. In the meantime, make these men bury their dead. My offer extends to them as well. They may join us or I leave them in your hands to find retribution."


	8. Chapter 7-Stand Up

**WRITER'S NOTE: So, University started two weeks ago for me, so writing has been taking much longer to accomplish...my apologies! Time is just something I don't have much of any more, so your patience is much appreciated :) I have all my ideas summarized, I just will be penning them on a much slower time frame. Also, I wanted to explore the actual culture of the Wraith and added my own ideas in this chapter. I will continue to do this because every background has a history and a story behind why people do the things they do. Bringing out the individual personalities is something I'm beginning to do here as well, so I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading! :)

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe (c) 2014

Chapter Seven

Stand Up

-"Stand Up" by Trapt - this song is a great expression for the fed up attitude of the entire Hive.

-"Braniac" by Chevelle - this song's lyrics inspired this chapter also: "We know him as one cell. Should've combined to save brains. How 'bout I teach him to crawl. Lift up the head so proud. Imagine this one cell." is the chorus of the song and sounds a little abstract, but if you apply them in the thought processes of the Hive, they only know Tirrian as an unethical lunatic and they want to cause his downfall.

-"Riot" by Three Days Grace - Sick of torture, the Hive rises. **Personal note: I have this song edited...**

-"Waiting For Yesterday" by 12 Stones - the solemn mood of this song gives the intro to this chapter well as the Hive deals with the losses.

Vorrin and the others bowed their head as they hoisted the hostile Wraith to their feet. The ones that were unconscious remained. I searched through the crowd of men sifting through the wreckage, trying to find someone in particular. "Zilas!" I hollered finding him. He looked over at me. "Come here!" I beckoned. He obediently walked over, trying not to step in the gruesome mess. When he reached Zerrix and me, he bowed.

"My Queen, what can I do for you?"

"Was this the result of the rifle?" I asked pointing at the comatose Wraith at my feet.

"Yes, I noted that as I was firing, they fell unconscious and were unable to move. I believe the weapon test was successful."

"Very good. Thank you for your bravery, brilliance, and help in its development. Go and return to what you were doing before," I forced a half smile. He bowed and went back to aiding the Hive remove the wreckage. Sighing, I draped one arm around Zerrix's shoulder as we watched the men. It was maddening to my senses. Realizing that Tirrian was going to continue his insanity, I began devising a plan to intervene. The only way to stop him was to sever his connection to these people. We needed to lay siege to his laboratory.

The day passed by rather slowly as we prepared for the burial ceremony of Tarsis and Forrix. The preparations were slightly different than of those we did for the Hive we found in Tirrian's lab. My interest peaked as each Wraith brought ceramic bowls filled with black liquid. Frinx and Xar were shirtless and had drenched their skin in the blackness. I couldn't help but feel their pain as it radiated from them. The emotions of others were easily detectable now. I concluded that it was due to chemical imbalances of the body that were much more profoundly sensed through the slits on my face and that I was getting used to my anatomy.

Both Frinx and Xar knelt down in front of the graves of their brothers. "Shazarr..." Frinx mumbled as a stream of angry tears ran down his face.

"Shazarr," Xar repeated, closing his eyes with a low exhale. They both struck some flint starting sparks. Tossing the embers on their brothers' bodies, the flames set the graves ablaze and lighted up the clearing. Standing again, just as last time, my Hive roared to the sky, this time with definite agony. Gazing at the heavens as the stars sparkled, I couldn't help but cry for their loss; for they were my loss as well.

Silence fogged the group as we slowly marched to a larger grave for the intruding Hive. Their men had recovered somewhat and were conscious, standing on the opposite end of the pit. "Have they made their decision?" I asked for all to hear.

Vorrin stepped forward and bowed, "Yes, my Queen. They desire to live and work amongst us with you as their Queen."

"Very well, you must prove your loyalty to me and your new brothers. Follow me without question and you will find forgiveness. Those of you who have masks must remove them, for I like to look my men in the eye when I speak to them. As we set this Hive on fire, throw your doubts in with it. If I detect any treason, I will not hesitate to protect my Hive lowering you to the same fate as theirs," I announced sternly. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, my Queen," all twenty of them said simultaneously as they bowed.

"Good," I furled my eye ridges and glanced over at Zerrix who repeated the process of setting the pit on fire. The Hive remained silent as the flames engulfed the mass. Leaning close to Zerrix, I whispered, "What does 'Shazarr' mean?"

"It is Wraith for a forever goodbye," he replied softly. Frowning, that made me feel even more sad and angered. Wrapping my arms around him for comfort, he kissed my hair.

Sighing, I let go and turned to walk away from the graveyard to find Frinx and Xar. I wanted to offer them my condolences and any comfort. My Hive followed me as I made my search. Locating them, they were wiping the black ink off of their bodies. Their grief was mephitic; I hated seeing them like this. One at a time, I wrapped my arms around them in a tight embrace. Both were slightly stunned at the act, but returned the gesture. "I'm sorry...they were both exceptional men and were great assets to the Hive. They will be greatly missed by everyone including myself…" I began, not able to properly look either of them in the eye. My face scrunched slightly as my anger returned. "I am plotting to overthrow Tirrian's lab and to stop our losses once and for all! I need your help."

"Anything, my Queen. I want to bring that savage to his knees!" Frinx growled through clenched teeth.

"He will feel the pain that I have experienced! You can count me in," Xar agreed as well.

Sighing, I tried to smile through the silence. "My Queen, now is the time for us to brand them with the memories of their brothers," Zerrix commented quietly next to me. I glanced up at him confused. Detecting this, he smirked, "The black liquids we have brought with us are for marking our skin permanently. The color has been crushed and extracted from the shells of our insect relatives, and with heat applied to the ink, we stain our skin indefinitely."

My eyes widened as I nodded my head in understanding. "'Hive Pride'?"

"Yes, my Queen," he smiled.

Frinx handed me his bowl of ink. Shocked, I looked up at him. "You want me to do it?"

"If you would do me the honor," he replied bowing as he sat down on the ground. How could I possibly refuse? I knelt down next to him, grateful that my mother had made it a point to instruct me in the arts.

I glanced up at Zerrix once again. "How am I supposed to do this?"

"You use the ink to paint the pattern he chooses. Then, heating the tip of the needle until it is red, you repeat the pattern, searing the color to the skin," he explained.

"Uh...will you demonstrate?" I hesitated. He smiled, taking Xar's bowl as they both sat down next to Frinx and me. Xar placed his pointer finger on the dirt and drew a form of our Hive's winged design. It was flowy and had simple curved lines to make the shape, connecting at the points at the base of the design. It was plain, yet handsome. Zerrix removed his own belts and jacket and placed them on the ground next to him.

"Where am I placing this?" Zerrix asked. Xar pointed to the back of his head, neck, and base of the neck connecting to the shoulders. "What are the memories attached?"

"The back of my head for his intellect, part of my back for he always protected me from birth, and my neck…" Xar started smirking and chuckling, "for he was always the pain in my neck of a younger brother." We all smiled at the thought as Zerrix dipped the brush in the ink. Xar leaned over his legs and bowed his head to stretch out his skin that would be marked. Zerrix concentrated as he painted the design carefully onto Xar's skin. I was surprised at how quickly he accomplished the task. Striking some flint into the bowl, the liquid caught fire and burned hot. Holding the tip on the opposite end of the brush into the flames, he waited until the tip was red. Using the heated tip, he retraced the design. Xar was calm as his skin seared where the brush touched. Zerrix continued heating the tip until the tattoo was literally branded into Xar's skin. I was in awe. "Thank you, my Lord. You are one of my oldest comrades and have honored my brother with this task," Xar bowed. I smiled as Zerrix also bowed his head with a smirk.

Looking over at me, Zerrix motioned for me to move forward with Frinx's tattoo. Looking at Frinx, he outlined his design in the dirt. I was relieved that it was simple. It was similar to Xar's design except the lines didn't connect to each other. There were two dots in the middle of the wing shapes that stood as a reference point for the teardrop 'feathers' to stem from.

Suddenly feeling nervous, I paused. "My apologies…" I breathed. "I'm just a little anxious that's all." Zerrix scooted closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. Smiling, I exhaled. "Where am I painting this?"

"I am sure you will do a remarkable job, my Queen," Frinx reassured placing his left hand over his right shoulder. "Here, for he was always on my right hand. We came from the same egg sack, and he always provided me with strength." Smiling, I nodded my head as I ignored my disquiet. I dipped the brush in the ink and brought it to his shoulder. Holding my breath and biting my lip, I began the strokes. Keeping them long and flowing provided even lines with a straight edge, dipping the brush after each stroke to make sure the color was equal throughout the whole design. The dots were easier to form as I simply placed the brush's tip against his skin. The teardrop feathers also proved more manageable than I anticipated. Repeating the same technique I used to apply the dots, I pulled them outwards to form the tip of the shape. I did this five times, two for the top wing and three for the bottom as seen on all 'Hive Pride' designs. The step that was causing me apprehensive had arrived as I lit the liquid on fire. My hand felt a little shaky as I held the needlepoint in the flames.

Zerrix adjusted himself to sit directly behind me. He leaned in close as he held me. "You are doing well. Just redo with the heat what you have done," he whispered quietly in my ear. Taking a deep breath, the needle was ready as I held it against Frinx's skin. The pigment smelled similar to burning coal as it sizzled against him. I slowly outlined and filled each stroke one by one until the task was finished. Feeling like I could be calm again, I breathed an exhale of a relieved triumph as I placed the brush on the ground.

"Well done, my Queen," Zerrix said kissing the side of my head.

"Thank you, my Queen," Frinx bowed his head as he ran his hand over his shoulder. I nodded feeling a bit more peaceful. He and Xar stood up and walked over to separate groups of men as small bonfires were lit leaving Zerrix and me alone on the periphery. Sighing, I felt like I was in a daze as I rested against him. The fires were in sections as the varied categories of men mingled with their associates. I watched them, feeling the gloominess in the atmosphere. Letting out a loud exhale, I held his arms around me with one hand while I lifted my other to caress the side of his face. How was I ever going to plan a rise against Tirrian when these men felt so divided? The crackling of the different fires were calming as Zerrix slowly kissed my head and neck. He knew exactly how to quiet my nerves, but unfortunately, it wasn't helping tonight. I shut my eyes as he rested his head against mine.

"What troubles you, my Queen? Your mind is speaking very quickly in your language. Despite my efforts to soothe you, you are still in distress," he commented with concern in his voice.

I sighed, opening my eyes. "Besides the obvious? Look at this Hive! These men are tortured! With the inclusion of the other Hive, they are divided. They all feel depressed on different levels. Despite your rather intimate mood tonight, you smell sad as well. All of this is making me feel somber..."

"There are the varied ranks and positions within the Hive; therefore, they tend to associate with those they relate to. They are all yours to command, and all of us want retribution from the Lantean in some form or another. In that, we are unified."

"True...but there's still an awkwardness in the divisions..."

"What are your plans, my Queen?"

Sighing, I wasn't sure. Shivering slightly, I gathered his arms to be more around mine. He picked up his jacket and pulled it over me for warmth. I felt snug as he wrapped his arms more tightly around me again. Glancing at his jacket, my eyes fell to the Hive's symbol on the decorative shoulder embellishments of the jacket. Experiencing a small epiphany, I sat up. "Do we have enough ink here to mark everyone?" I asked turning to look at him.

He furled his eye ridges and looked around. "I believe so. What do you have in mind?"

I thought about it for a moment. "This," I pointed at the symbol on his jacket. "Mark everyone with this design over the right side of their collarbone, including myself," I added placing my hand on his collarbone where I wanted the mark to be.

"That will be manageable, my Queen," he bowed his head. Connecting with all the Wraith minds of the Hive, he charged them with the task. I admired how quickly the obeyed for that seemed rare in other cultures, not even some Atlanteans were as agile towards commands. Removing his shirt, he picked up his bowl that was resting next to him and handed it to me. "We will share mine."

"That's a grand idea seeing as I am not so prepared," I laughed quietly. "Will you also do another design on me? I want it done before I talk myself out of doing it…"

"Anything you wish, my Queen," he smirked.

"I want you to place wings on my shoulder blades...to kind of play off the name you gave me, and in between them I want you to write three words: fight, conquer, endure. Can you do that?" I asked as my smile widened while his eye ridges scrunched slightly.

"I am still unlearned on how to write, my Queen," he commented looking slightly confused. Placing my finger in the soft dirt next to me, I wrote in Atlantean the three words.

"I want you to be as artistic as you want. Make them look elegant."

"Those are doable." He turned his head to look at me. I couldn't help but stare as his eyes were beautiful in the moonlight and intimate luminosity from of the different fires. We paused there for a moment. Breaking my gaze, he gave me a small kiss. I smiled as he picked up the brush and handed it to me. Gathering his hair and placing it behind his back so as to fully see his collarbone, I dipped the brush in the bowl. Biting my lip again, I concentrated on painting the design. He began smirking with a small chuckle in his throat.

"What's so amusing?" I asked feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing, your level of concentration just makes it seem so difficult," he continued chuckling.

"I don't want to mess up!" I protested quietly not holding back a smile. "Now hold still!" He continued smirking as he brought one hand to my hair and ran his fingers through. Giving me chills, it felt incredible. I completed painting the design successfully despite the distractions.

Handing the brush to him, I pulled back a part of my shirt to reveal more of my collarbone. He proceeded to stain my skin. The ink was surprisingly cold. "Will you write those words on my left shoulder blade, my Queen? I wish to add the boldness to my person as well." I nodded my head once he finished the design. Smirking, he turned his back towards me. Moving his hair over his left shoulder to the front of him, I had never really fully examined his large tattoo until now. It was very elegant.

"What does yours mean?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Wraith receive these designs for different purposes: for memories, achievements, and after making covenants. Queen Breena awarded me with it. After choosing to follow her instead of my sister, she had it painted on me as a mark of loyalty, for it was a hard decision to make on my part," he explained. "Lex'Zvas also has one similar to this on his back. At times, I wished I had followed my sister due to my elder brother's increase in vanity. As fate has it, I am content that I remained and endured through it all. Having you as our Queen has regenerated this Hive with a sense of purpose." Smiling at the thought, I was glad that I was inspiring them at least in a small degree.

Desiring only to add to the artistry of the rest of the design, I carefully painted each letter of the words onto the designated area. Turning towards me again, he brought the back of his hand to my face and glided it down my cheek. "Turn your back to me, my Queen. You will not be exposed." Feeling nervous, I softly smiled as I did what I was told. Pulling the band out of his hair, he gathered all of my hair in his hands. Wrapping it in the tie, he lifted my hair up and off of my back. Grabbing his jacket, he draped it around the front part of my torso. Placing my arms through the sleeves, I held his jacket tightly against my body. He carefully detached the enlarged Iratus shells from the shirt for easier access and pushed my shirt to the base of my neck to reveal my shoulder blades. Chills ran down my spine at his touch as my unprotected skin felt the cold breeze. Holding it there with one hand, he began painting the wings. From what I could feel, it was an elegant design. It spanned from the edge of my shoulder blades to the tops and then stretched to mid-back on either side. "I am adding flames in the centers of the wings to symbolize your passion," he commented. Glancing at the words I had written, he slowly painted each letter.

I held my breath as he lit the ink on fire and held the needle in it. Touching it against my skin, the intense heat made me cringe. I clenched my teeth and scrunched my eyes tightly shut. Hearing the sizzling, I attempted to keep my body still. Each stroke made me feel closer to my Hive and closer to Zerrix as he branded. My skin throbbed as he finished the design. Running his hand carefully over my back, he felt the bubbled effect the heat left on my body. "Your skin is still so delicate from your past Lantean form. I suspect the swelling will recede in a few days."

"The pain is worth it. I feel unified with the Hive now," I sighed. Pulling my shirt down in the proper place and reattaching the scales, he stood up and walked around in front of me where he sat once again. "One more to go..." Smirking, he kissed my forehead. Keeping my eye, he grabbed his jacket and pulled it off of me. Holding the needle close to the flames once again, he placed it against my skin and slowly glided the needlepoint on the 'Hive Pride' design on my collarbone. Holding my breath and wincing at the heat, he placed his left hand on my shoulder to keep me still. Within moments, he finished his beautiful work. Exhaling again, I was relieved that it was completed.

"Well done, my Queen," he whispered kissing my forehead again. I ran my fingers over my blistered skin; it was a strange sensation to feel happy about the pain. Watching me, Zerrix hollered something in Wraith at one of the other men. Bringing over a bowl filled with an orange gel like substance, he placed it on the ground next to us. Zerrix dipped his fingers into it and scooped a small portion. He brought it to the puffy skin on my collarbone and carefully rubbed it in. It was cold and soothing and instantly sucked out the heat that was still permeating the tattoo. Taking a cloth out of his pocket, he wiped off the excess. "Is that more tolerable?"

"Much better," I sighed. Sliding his body to my side, he carefully applied the goo to my back as well. To my relief, the sting faded.

Now it was my turn to brand him. Grabbing the needle, I held it in the flames. Starting with the words on his back, I seared them into his skin. Moving to the front of him, I outlined and filled in the design on his collarbone. He placed his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me into a kiss once I completed the task. Releasing, I pulled my hair out of the band and handed it back to him. He brought his hair up in a half ponytail once again. Smiling, I stood up. He promptly came to his feet beside me as he began to gather his shirt and jacket. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I shook my head with a smile.

"I want everyone to see that we are all connected now." He bowed his head and placed his hands behind his back remaining shirtless. "Gentlemen! May I have your attention!" I announced towards the group. Their heads turned to look at me. "Arise, if you will and come stand before me." They all stood up and formed rows in front of me. They too were shirtless, having just finished their branding. "Take a look around you. We all share the same symbol on our collarbone," I paused glancing around at each of them. Pointing to mine, I continued, "Even I have this Hive's symbol engraved on my skin. That is because we are one! We are unified for the same cause." Slowly walking towards them, they parted with a bow and formed a circle around me. "And that cause is to stop the tyrannies of the Atlantean scientist named Tirrian! Now, some of you newer brothers have probably heard rumors from your previous Queen about me. To bring out the truth, the answer is yes. I am Atlantean as well..." Their faces were full of curiosity and perplexity. I smiled as I slowly turned on my heels to look at the mass. "Atlanteans are not as complicated and sophisticated as you may think. Our technology is more advanced, but I propose that we use what I have at my disposal and take it up a notch!" There were some nods from the different men, mainly the scientists. I smirked; I caught their attention. "You already know what I'm capable of, some in a more devastating way than others, and I'm willing to share that with you! Tirrian is a terrorist who steals and tortures in the name of science! He has taken our kin! He has taken our pride and dignity! He must be stopped!" The crowd was getting riled up and it added to my energy. "No longer are we going to stand by passively waiting for something to change! No longer are we going to lose our brothers and comrades to the beast! No longer are we going to hide in our dwellings as his chaos continues! We will take back what is ours! We will bring the riot to him!" There were several roars as the clamor rose with their zeal. "We will FIGHT! We will CONQUER! We will ENDURE! We are Hive 25! And we will show him just how dangerous it is to play with fire! Let's bring him to his knees!" They roared to the sky as one at my conclusion. I reveled in their energy. It was intoxicating!

The next week was spent dedicated to properly arming ourselves for the siege. I was impressed with their ingenuity as they crafted soldier like armor for the entire Hive. Amongst the labor of men, Lex'Zvas approached me holding the small hand-held railgun the intruding Wraith had used to kill Forrix and Tarsis. He handed it to me to examine. "I have made a full diagnostic, my Queen. This gun is very similar in the firing mechanism as the rifle we have modified. There are energy capsules that provide the blast of the gun. I have taken the liberty of making the necessary modifications to transform it into a tranquilizing weapon alongside the rifle. It was more manageable due to the fact that I did not need to purge anything from the capsules themselves. Just a simple injection of my own body's chemical created the desired effect."

"Well done, Lex'Zvas. I am very pleased with this. In my ship, there are small pistols of similar size. Take them and make the required adjustments to achieve the same results. There should be about twelve of them," I smiled feeling more and more confident about the invasion. He returned with a smirk and bowed his head as he left to do my request.

Zerrix was overseeing the production as the armor was actualized. Walking over to him, I smiled as his attention went to me. "Your Hive is performing well, my Queen. The armor should be completed within the next day. Do you desire some protective coating as well?"

"That won't be necessary. I will use my personal shielding," I replied shaking my head. He bowed his and held his hands behind his back as we continued to watch the industry. "How many brigades do we have in our Hive now?"

Pausing, he calculated. "There are twelve, my Queen."

"I want Xar, Vorrin, and Syrisx as my Generals. They will lead the Commanders of the different brigades, four each."

"That is a new rank. I am positive they will be honored by the task," Zerrix commented lifting an eye ridge.

"I want all of our Scientists acting as snipers," I began explaining my strategies. His interest was increasing as he listened.

"These are titles that are unheard of, my Queen," he mentioned smirking. Realizing that I needed to explain in more depth my plans, I smiled.

"Gather all the Commanders, Scientists, and my new Generals. We'll meet in my ship," I finished. Turning on my heels, I began walking to the ship. Upon my entrance, I was soon followed by the men I had called for. Turning towards them, they all bowed their heads. There were twenty of us all together including Zerrix and myself. The amount was mildly surprising to me, I wasn't expecting so many, but it only fortified my ambitions to move forward with my plans. "Thank you all for joining me," I began standing at the cockpit of the ship. "Please, take your seats. I have a presentation for you about our strategies to overthrow Tirrian at his base of operation." They all sat down on the seating, Zerrix next to me. Smiling, I grabbed a small orb and tossed it on the ground in the middle of the group. They all stared in curiosity as I held my hand over it with my palm facing down. Twisting my wrist and bringing my fingertips together, the orb lit up with life and projected a scan of Tirrian's lab into the air that I had taken earlier in the week. The new Wraith marveled at the science. My original Commanders were impressed, but the smirks on their faces showed that they were used to the surprise by now. I chuckled to myself at the sight.

"You never cease to impress, my Queen," Lex'Zvas commented smirking.

Returning the smile, I continued, "Thank you Lex'Zvas. Alright, so this is a projection of the schematics of the Atlantean facility where our enemy lurks. It is surprisingly larger than I originally anticipated. However, this does not phase me. We will attack in three separate groups at three different angles. Vorrin, please rise," I gestured to him. He stood up obediently and bowed to me. "Gentlemen, this is General Vorrin, he will lead you four and your brigades," I pointed to the four Commanders to the farthest left. "You will attack the eastern entrance right here. Thank you Vorrin, you may sit." He did as he was told as I continued. "Syrisx," he stood up. "General Syrisx will lead you four, in the middle, on the northern entrance. Thank you Syrisx. General Xar will lead you four, to the right, through the southern entrance. Zerrix and I will disable the shielding tower that's located here," I pointed to the tower in the middle of the facility. "We will use the ship to do so."

"How will we match his weaponry, my Queen?" Syrisx asked squinting his eyes.

"Valid question, Syrisx, I'm glad you asked. Lex'Zvas is modifying my Atlantean pistols from this ship to coincide with the rifle stunner. Each of you will be armed with one. My scanning indicated a small armory on the base itself. It is located on the southern part of the facility and will be blocked off by Xar and his team to prevent Tirrian from using them against us."

"What are we to do, my Queen?" Frinx asked stroking his beards.

"You, as scientists, will be my snipers. Now, your Lord has made me aware of the unfamiliarity of that term for you. It simply means that you three will be in the trees overlooking the three entrances with your weapons. You will shoot and stun any attempts of escape that should occur. Is that clear?"

"Yes, my Queen," they all bowed in concurrence.

"Any questions?" I finished as I brought my hand over the orb once again. Closing my hand into a fist, the lights retreated into the orb as it powered off. The silence of the men confirmed their complete understanding. "We will strike tomorrow. Now, go tend to the final preparations and brief your men! You three will remain," I dismissed everyone except for Lex'Zvas, Zilas, and Frinx. They stood and bowed in front of me as the others left. "First off, you are all performing well. I want those weapons finished by this evening. When you have completed the task, assemble the men again and we will demonstrate how to use them. Now, go and don't disappoint me."

They bowed their heads lower and exited. Sighing, Zerrix came and stood beside me. "You smell apprehensive, my Queen," he commented. Raising an eye ridge I smirked. He was right. Although the plan was organized, it was still rough. I had no idea what to expect, what Tirrian had in store for us. My only comfort was that we would take him by surprise...hopefully. Closing my eyes, I interlocked our fingers and held his hand tightly in mine. Resting my cheek against his strong shoulder, I wrapped my other hand around his bicep. Hearing him chuckle softly in his throat, I smiled as he caressed my hair with his free hand. "I am positive we will perform to your expectations, my Queen." Knowing he was correct, I breathed a sigh.

"I am uncertain on what to expect that's all…" I mumbled.

There was a small pause between us as I heard his mind pondering what to say in Wraith. Bringing his fingertips under my chin, he lifted my face to look into his eyes. "The Lantean is arrogant and cavalier. We have the 'Angel of Fate' leading us; the odds are ever in our favor." Smiling, I closed my eyes as he kissed my forehead. My confidence solidified as he brought me into a full embrace. "I have something for you, my Queen." Glancing up at him in curiosity, he placed his hands in his pockets. Pulling out a pair of elegant black flats that were studded with small diamonds in the shape of wings, he handed them to me. I gasped; they were stunning! "You made a comment a while ago during a hike that your heels were proving to be more of an inconvenience. I crafted these for your comfort."

"You made these?! The craftsmanship is truly incredible! They are beautiful!" I couldn't help but get emotional, not because they were shoes, but the thoughtfulness to the details of my person was beyond any other prior relationship I had been involved in. He was phenomenal! Smiling uncontrollably, I yanked off my shoes and slid them on, a perfect fit. They were soft and soothing on my feet. I cupped my mouth in my hand in attempts to hold my emotions in. My efforts were thwarted as I glanced up at him again. His addictive smirk and mesmerizing eyes made me want to melt; I didn't know what to say. I was stricken.

"Your reaction speaks more than words," he smiled as he caressed my face with his hands. Practically jumping on him, I tightly embraced him.

"...Gratias!" I managed to say. Closing the back door, I kissed him. Our lips parted as we breathed. Sitting down on the chair behind him, he pulled me onto his lap and held me graciously. My heart raced at his affection. Running his hand through my hair, I was elated as all prior nervousness was dispersed. What felt like seconds, an hour passed. Resting my forehead against his, dusk was falling as I was grateful for at least a moment's privacy with him. Our exhale was heavy as I slowly kissed his face. Caressing my arm, he brought my palm to his and interlocked our fingers. Pressing my lips against his again, I pulled away and rested my head against his shoulder. Cradling me in his arms, I could feel his elevated heartbeat. Even through his jacket, it was very strong. "You need to calm your heart, Zerrix!" I giggled caressing the side of his face. I nuzzled my nose against his neck and pecked.

"With the amount of affection from your lips, my Queen, that is impossible…" he exhaled pulling me forward and kissing me again. I laughed inside at his statement. I loved being adored. "Your scientists are approaching…" he whispered. I sighed in exasperation. "Your Hive needs you now."

"Very well…" I sighed again, kissing him. Not moments later, there was a knock on the door. "Right…" I pulled away and stood up. He remained in the chair with his eyes closed taking deep breaths. I could smell his contentment and it made me smile.

Grabbing the rifle from the shelving, I made my way to the door. Opening it, I found Lex'Zvas, Zilas, and Frinx there holding the thirteen modified pistols. They bowed as I walked down the ramp. "We have completed your orders, my Queen. The pistols are ready for demonstration," Lex'Zvas presented.

"Very good, gather the men," I replied.

"Already done, my Queen," he bowed again smiling widely. I returned the smile as I glanced over my shoulder at Zerrix. He stood up and walked over to us and placed his hands behind his back. The men took steps to the side and bowed their heads to let me pass. Finding the others not too far off, I paused in the middle of them.

"Alright, our Scientists have been diligent in preparing these weapons for tomorrow's invasion," I began as Lex'Zvas handed me one of the pistols. Pointing it at a tree, I pulled the trigger. A neon blue energy ball blasted and collided against the bark spreading with small electric sparks. It appeared to have worked but the men had confusion on their faces.

"Are you sure it is effective, my Queen?" one of the newer Wraith questioned not impressed.

Feeling challenged, I looked over at him raising my eye ridges. "Well, I suppose I need a test subject. Are you volunteering?" Stepping out from the men, he stood in front of me and stared me down with a face of haughtiness. Aiming the pistol at him, I fired. His expression quickly changed to a surprise as his chest absorbed the blue energy. He blacked out and fell to the ground. Smirking at the success, I turned towards Lex'Zvas and the other Scientists, "It works perfectly. Now, distribute these amongst the others I designated earlier." Glancing down at the unconscious Wraith, I continued, "And get his arrogance out of my sight."

Feeling angered that some of the newer men still doubted my abilities, I walked away from them. I paused around the front of the ship. Leaning against it, I sighed. The stars were so beautiful here. The flooding lights of Atlantis always drowned the breathtaking lights of the firmament. Life, though full of the drama of Tirrian's cruelty, was simpler here. I just wished I didn't have to continue to prove myself to the different assemblies. It was getting on my nerves. I closed my eyes and just breathed deeply as I soaked in the beauty of my surroundings.

Feeling Zerrix's presence approaching, I smiled. "Is that Commander alright?" I asked as he rounded the corner. He smirked as he came and leaned against the ship next to me.

"He is still unconscious," he replied.

"Why do I have to continually authenticate myself to every new face that comes my way? Why all the harsh judgements?"

He chuckled in his throat. "I suppose it's partially my fault. You know what I believe you to be. Legends are usually mythical or misperceived, so when the word quickly spread that the 'Angel of Fate' walked amongst us, many were skeptical. They will believe in time what I have come to know."

Sighing, I pulled him towards me and leaned my back against his torso. Embracing me from behind, he kissed my hair. "Patience is a virtue, I suppose..." Chuckling again, his eyes followed mine to the sky. The bombilate of the insects was quiet tonight, as if they knew what was to ensue in the morning.

"Ne cures, mea Regina..." he whispered quietly. "Tous andrà bien."

My head jolted around to look at him in astonishment. "You're speaking Atlantean!" I gasped with a broad smile. "How?"

"I have been paying attention to the way you contemplate. Over time, I was able to pick out patterns of the different words. Although I still do not completely comprehend it, I am able to understand to some degree. I am not the only one…" I was touched that my Hive was trying to learn the language of my people; they continued to impress me.

"Caspita...I need to tune into your thought processes more often so I can learn Wraith," I sighed passively. I heard him chuckle in his throat again as he kissed my hair again. "We should all get some rest for tomorrow. I want us fully alert for the siege," I added feeling a little fatigued.

"I believe that would be wise, my Queen. Link in with their minds and give them the command."

I sighed once more. Connecting to so many different minds was still exhausting to me, but the more I practiced, the better I would get, I suppose. Concentrating, I was transported into the colony of thoughts. There were more this time due to the increase in number, but it was easier than the last time I made the connection. "Rest. You all need your strength for the morrow. We will rise at dawn," I commanded them with my thoughts. Feeling their movement, I knew I had accomplished the task.

"Well done, my Queen," Zerrix kissed my head again. "I will escort you to your chambers inside your ship." I smiled as we both stood up straight. Holding my hand, we slowly walked to the front of the ship where I tapped the back and lowered the door. Kissing my forehead and my lips, he bowed and kissed the top of my hand. "Until the dawn, my Queen." I smiled as he gave me his jacket once again. He gave a crooked smile as he backed away. Turning, he left towards his cave. Sighing, I closed the door. Making my mattress once again, I crawled in my makeshift bed.

Sleep was rough. Although my eyes were shut, my rem cycle never came. I was too anxious to properly dream or find any form of rest. The knot in my chest remained as the sun slowly flooded my ship with light. Sighing in exasperation, I sat up. Smelling his jacket, I smiled finding some comfort. My grin widened as I slid on the shoes he gave me yesterday. They were just as beautiful as before. Stretching my stiffness away, I stood up and adjusted my clothing as I attached my personal shielding to my chest. Mentally preparing myself, I opened the door and stood inside the entrance with Zerrix's jacket in arm. Closing my eyes, I linked up with the men once again. It was quieter this time, I figured they were still waking up. "Arise! Place on your armor and meet me at my ship," I thought. I heard the buzz of many waking minds once I had spoken clairvoyantly. Opening my eyes, Zerrix was on route towards me. He wore his armor over his clothing. It was thick and black and resembled somewhat of his old Soldier's armor.

"Did you rest well, my Queen?" he asked me.

Sighing with a smile, I shook my head. "Not a wink, but no matter. The adrenaline rush will provide me with the energy I need to get through today." Smirking, he brushed the back of his hand down the side of my face and neck. Turning to stand next to me, we waited as the men began flooding into the clearing.

They formed lines in front of us standing in attention. Glancing over at Zerrix, I motioned for him to make the command. Smirking, he inclined his head, "You know our Queen's orders! All of your rage and need for retribution will be satisfied!" He paused chuckling in his throat. "Let's show this Lantean who we really are! My brothers, we march!" he growled as the men roared.

Smiling at the sight and sound, we entered the ship. Closing the door behind us, I ignited the engines upon sitting down in the pilot's seat. "Let's bring him to his knees," I sneered quietly. Zerrix chuckled again as we took flight. Glancing through the windshield, we could see the men quietly rushing towards Tirrian's laboratory through the thick forest. Cloaking the ship, I was impressed at how fast they moved. Barely reaching the lab before they did, I launched two drones into the protruding shielding tower in the center. The blast cleaning hit a devastating blow, the shields not even up to begin with. This didn't matter anymore though as my men made their invasion like a swarm of insects.

Parking the ship next to the facility, I glanced over at Zerrix. He smirked and then turned towards the door with a look of a terrifying predator on the prowl. I followed opening the door. Charging in behind Xar's group, we were disappointed to find the facility without life. There were plenty of dead, but the one man we were hunting was nowhere to be found. "Have the men guard the entrances!" I barked to Zerrix. The men in my view were just as disgruntled as I was. Zerrix made the command telepathically to the others at the different entrances while our scientists waited patiently in the trees on the perimeter.

With Zerrix right behind me, we carefully snaked our way through the hallways. The atmosphere was eerie. The stillness in the air was as if all life had been sucked out of it. The stench of mold and decay was prevalent as the different rooms encased tombs of the dead Wraith who fell prey to experimentation. The lighting lit up as we walked into the different sections and then, automatically shut off as we continued. Goosebumps rose on my arms as the flickering lights of one room caught my attention. Grabbing Zerrix's hand, I peered inside the window on the door. Gasping, I saw the answer to the question on whether the new men of my Hive's former queen was still alive. She was sitting on a propped up gurney with straps on her arms and legs preventing any escape. Her feeding organs had been ripped out of her hands as the veins that connected them to her heart were torn out as well. Her face was lifeless as her blank eyes stared into oblivion. Dried blood stained her clothes along with the stream of red from her mouth. My terror peaked at the sight! Tirrian was a monster! I buried myself in Zerrix's arms as my body inadvertently began to tremble. Holding me tightly, I could hear him growl in his throat as he examined the gruesome sight. "I will never let that beast do that to you, my Queen!" he commented quietly. Pushing me past the sight, I felt sick. Who does something like that and then, leaves it on display?! I got light headed and couldn't hold it in. Turning to the side and not sure what came out of me, I puked on the floor. Pulling some cloth from his pocket, he handed it to me. Wiping my lips, I spat the remaining taste from mouth. My breathing was staggered yet heavy as I couldn't control the disturbed tears from flowing. Patting my back with one hand and rubbing my shoulder with the other, Zerrix kissed me on the head as means of comfort. Taking deep breaths through my nose, I regained my composure. Wiping my face dry, I sniffed my nose and tossed the cloth to the ground doubting he would want it back.

White-fist tightly holding his hand, we continued down the corridor. Searching through the windows of the rooms, I found the one I was looking for. Pressing the panel on the wall, the door to the secret Gate Room opened. There was a Control Chair directly behind the DHD that was parallel to the dormant Stargate. "That is the pendant on your necklace on a much larger scale…" Zerrix commented staring at the Stargate. Nodding my head, I sat down on the chair. Refraining from reclining, which would activate it, I sat sideways and dangled my legs over the arms. My mind was plagued with the sights of the different rooms. This only added to raging fire within me. "What do we do now, my Queen?" he asked, carefully massaging my shoulders to relieve the knots of stress that were hard as stone.

Closing my eyes, I let out a long exhale. "He will enter through the Stargate, so we will wait patiently until he returns…" I pointed. "I want you to linger over there to prevent any form of escape back into the Stargate that he might attempt. I will be fine, I have my shielding," I plotted powering up the shield on my chest. He obediently walked over to the corner which was relatively dark. The shadows hid his large stature well. Smiling in his direction, we sat there for no more than half an hour. The Stargate came to life as the spinning dial on its ring shape began turning and pausing at different chevrons much like a lock on a safe for this particular gate address. My heart rate instantly accelerated as the adrenaline rushed through my veins. Terror attempted to creep into my chest, but it was suppressed by the spite I had for the being who would be entering the event horizon.

The Stargate's water-like iris burst into the room like a giant splash and retreated back into itself signalling the success of the dial. I was passively clicking my long and sharp fingernails together removing any particles from underneath them when the bane of my existence walked through the gate. Not turning to look, the Stargate deactivated behind him as he paused in his tracks staring at me in misbelief. "Hello Tirrian…"


	9. Chapter 8-Reap

***AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this is taking so long! I am literally swamped with school work and a full time job! Good news! My grades are great and I'm doing well! Funny coincidence, when I wrote this chapter, that very night, I slipped at work and hurt my shins REALLY bad! I'm fine, thank heavens! It was just super funny!

The Chosen One

AliZoe

AliZoe (c) 2014

Chapter Eight

Reap

-"Reap (Radio Edit)" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - As Tirrian digs himself into a deeper hole, the Hive gets more aggressive.

-"Death Trend Setta" by Crossfade - The rivalry between Tirrian and Luna'Ari gets worse. ***I have this song edited.

Glancing over at Tirrian with a smug smile, he blinked several times without saying anything. "Alisia...what a pleasant surprise it is to see you. I hope you liked the gifts I sent your way," he commented passively smiling like there was nothing wrong.

"The Hive? Yes, they are mine now. Thank you for increasing my numbers to charge against you," I replied matching the lightness in conversation. Turning around he saw Zerrix slowly striding up behind him growling in his throat.

"You are huge...I thought I killed you already," Tirrian rambled; the height difference was hilarious as he looked up at him. Quickly yanking Tirrian's weapons out of his belt, Zerrix threw them behind him detecting Tirrian's hand heading for them. "That was impressively fast! Caspita, I should take more precautions," he laughed almost mockingly as he powered up his personal shield.

"You know why we're here, Tirrian. Let's just get this over with," I rolled my eyes as I stood up and walked over to him. Tirrian's gaze went from me to Zerrix behind him and then back to me; his amusement began to show.

"Wait! Did you revive this thing after I shot the plague into it?! How was that? I'm surprised you purged it!"

"Zitto, Tirrian!" I growled feeling my face get hot. He started chuckling to himself.

"Do I detect some chemistry here? Oh Lantea, Alisia, you cannot be serious! You and the savage? That is absolutely disgusting!"

"If I recall, you violated the former queen of this Hive, impregnating her!"

"Please...that was in the name of science! I felt nothing for the beast!" he laughed shaking his head.

"You're a monster, you know that?! How can you live with yourself?! I've seen what you do in here! You're a plague! You kill everything you touch!" I spat.

He chuckled holding up his hands in a false defense. "You have it all wrong, my love. I'm just helping move along the natural order of things. You see, they won't die of old age, so I am merely keeping the balance of things. I am God here. I'm doing them a favor, showing mercy on them; reducing their numbers for scientific benefit so that they wouldn't die of starvation as fast as they would if all were living."

"Do not flatter yourself with blasphemies Tirrian! You are their hell!" both Zerrix and I were growling now; my anger continued to rise.

"They would all die without me! I give them their food supply! Tell me, my love, are you going to bite the hand that feeds you?" he asked, scrunching his face in an arrogance. His glance went to my powered up personal shield on my chest and then back to my eyes. "Because I can assure you, there will be consequences for those kinds of actions!" he scolded. Zerrix growled and thrust his fist at him. Tirrian laughed as he rebounded from the shielding. "Did I not just say there would be consequences? You cannot harm me you filthy low life! You are below me! I determine your fate! And due to your actions, you will not live again! I will destroy you to the point where you cannot be resurrected!" Tirrian bellowed in Zerrix's face in self-righteousness.

"ENOUGH!" The screech I released harmed Tirrian's eardrums as he cupped his hands over his ears. "You make one more threat again-" I began.

"Or you'll what? You'll hurt me? Please! I know these creatures far better than you do! I know their anatomy and biological make up! I know their weaknesses! You've inherited their flaws! You are just as pathetic as they are!"

Swinging the back of my hand to his face, our shielding collided against each other. The thrust of it caused him to stumble. "SILENCE!" My mind broadened causing the lights to flicker from my fury. This facility was Atlantean after all and my psyche connected to it just as it did with my ship.

"You do not understand, Alisia!"

"I have never felt more alive, Tirrian! Never in my life could I have imagined the level of intensity my emotions, sensory, and psyche capacity could peak to such uncanning heights! I am capable of staying conscious for weeks on end without feeling fatigued, and life force? Oh, life force! Never in my life have I experienced something so celestial!"

"THAT'S JUST IT, ALISIA! I CANNOT STOP!" Tirrian yelled. There was a small pause as I saw genuine worry on his face. "I cannot stop! I need what they ingest! I need the life force for myself! I am addicted to the substance! If I quit now, I will surely perish!"

Pausing, I didn't share his self-pity. "Oh poverino! Now who's fault is that? It is not our fault that your gluttony made you an addict!" I furled my eye ridges in false worry. Zerrix's crooked smile only empowered me to continue my taunting. "Let's make this fun, shall we? I will give you to the count of three to run. I have surprises waiting at all the exits, so don't try there. One."

"You are a monster, Alisia!" Tirrian spat, his face scrunched in anger.

"NO, YOU ARE TIRRIAN! Two!"

He groaned in exasperation and bolted out the door. "Three!" I laughed looking over at Zerrix. His grin was wide as he bowed his head and held his arm out for me to go first. Not holding back a smile, I sprinted out the door in the direction of Tirrian. Only slightly surprised at how agile he was, we weren't too far behind. "I have many men of my Hive who would just LOVE to thrust their palm into you, Tirrian!" I hollered as he rounded a corner. I found him a distance ahead frantically pressing buttons on the wall. At a full sprint, a wall of energy shot up in front of me, my body getting electrocuted by it. Passing through, I fell to my face. Popping off my chest, my personal shield was drained of all of its energy.

Laughing hysterically, Tirrian pointed his finger at me as Zerrix was angrily pounding on the force field unable to get through. I shook my head feeling discombobulated. Grabbing a fist full of my hair, Tirrian yanked my head to his. Forcing a kiss on my lips, I growled in disgust. "I told you I was superior!" he sang in a mocking tone as he released. Zerrix roared loudly as he began bashing the wall next to the force field. "Oh, I fancied her way before you did, savage! How about I do it again!" he continued insulting Zerrix as he kissed me once more. Shoving his face off of me I spat on the ground finding my orientation again. "Your mother's necklace...I remember when she gave that to you. She crafted it herself you know…" he continued his fingers sliding on my neck to the Stargate pendant. My skin was crawling! Breaking the chain of the necklace off my neck, I gasped. "I think I'll take this as a souvenir…" climbing on top of me, I struggled in horror. Turning his head to glance at Zerrix, "You can passively watch and do nothing to stop me! Once I'm finished, I'll kill her and then, I'll kill you...again!" Leaning over me, he nibbled on my neck. Screaming, I tried kneeing him, but because of his shielding, nothing came of it.

Roaring even louder, Zerrix held his fists together and with a jump to help accelerate the thrust, he smashed the wall breaking the seal of the force field. The barrier powered off as he lept through the air onto Tirrian knocking him on his back. Repeatedly crushing his fists into Tirrian's chest, green sparks flew from the device as it shattered; the shards of it crumbled to the floor. My eyes widened at the sight, only imagining the amount of force that was required to accomplish the task. Just as Narz said, Zerrix really was a juggernaut; he was my powerhouse protection! "IF YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN, YOU WILL LEARN FIRST HAND HOW IT FEELS TO BE HUNTED!" Zerrix thundered looking much like a predatory animal. He clawed Tirrian's face and picked him up by the neck. Lifting him to the wall and slamming him against it, he yanked my necklace out of his clutches and stuffed it in his pocket. Struggling to breathe, Tirrian's eyes rolled to the back of his head. Zerrix flexed his hand and jammed it into Tirrian's chest. Life was quickly drained from his body and then, just as quickly returned. I was flabbergasted as I watched this process repeated several times. Tirrian was shaking as if he were having a seizure during the whole thing. Roaring, Zerrix launched him a good hundred feet down the hall in front of us; his body continued sliding once he made contact with the slick, smooth floor.

"I feel so violated and contaminated!" I wiped my lips with the back of my hand and rubbed my neck where Tirrian's lips had touched. Zerrix was still growling as he lifted me to my feet again. Our attention went to Tirrian as he was fumbling to get to his feet again, blood dripping from his mouth and face. He gripped the wall and pulled himself into the transporter nearby as we bolted over there. Catching a glimpse of his wickedly arrogant face as the door closed, I pounded it in fury as the transporter took him elsewhere. The door rotated and opened for us to enter. With my hand in Zerrix's, we walked in. "Close your eyes," I mentioned. I could still see the blinding white light through my eyelids as the transporter activated and sent us shooting to another part of the facility. The door rotated again and opened to a small hangar bay with a shuttle at the end of it. Limping and holding one arm around his ribs, Tirrian had almost reached it. Zerrix and I darted towards him but missed by seconds as the door closed behind him. Zerrix began clawing the back door to try and pry it open. Like an animal, I climbed the back of the ship and around it until I reached the front where the window revealed Tirrian's smile of his triumph. I scrunched my nose and clenched my teeth as he pointed his finger and laughed hysterically. Holding my fists in a tight ball, I used all my strength to batter the windshield. Small cracks began to spiderweb upon repeated hits. A small horror struck his face. Powering up the ship, he kissed his fingertips and waved his hand at me. Still chuckling to himself, he winked as the ship took flight. Zerrix and I still attached to the exterior, we flew through the opening gate in the ceiling. The men of my Hive came flooding underneath us to see what was happening. Zerrix's body was dangling until he released and landed safely in a crouch on the grass beneath us.

Growling in frustration, I realized Tirrian was going to escape through the Stargate that was just out of orbit of the planet. I did not factor that in. "NO!" I roared, pounding the windshield one last time. Jumping off the ship, I landed in the middle of the men. The distance of the fall buckled my shins and knees upon impact with a loud crack on either one; I groaned in pain. Shakily standing up, I clutched onto Zerrix's arms as he quickly made it to my side. My face still scrunched in rage, I exhaled a loud shriek towards the sky as the men accompanied me with roars of frustration. The ones with guns began shooting at the ship, but to no avail. Its shielding absorbed the blasts.

Hearing the shuttle circle back around over us, the sound of drones flying through the air came to ear. My eyes widened as I realized Tirrian was firing at us. Desperately trying to find a solution, I closed my eyes and concentrated my mind the hardest that I ever had on the drones. They yellow spinning missiles were almost to us as their energy flickered. Ducking for cover, my men flinched as the drones powered down and fell dormant at our feet. Tirrian had stupidly fired all of them at once in a pathetic attempt to harm us once and for all. Gasping as I ended my connection, Tirrian's face was visibly enraged and shocked that I was able to thwart his feeble attack on us. "THIS IS NOT OVER!" I roared after him as he flew the ship deep into the sky and out of sight.

Realizing just how paralyzing the injuries were in my legs, I went into shock. My adrenaline quickly depleted as I blacked out. I woke up to sheer pain. My vision was blurry as I tried to figure out where I was. Surprisingly, I was in Tirrian's lab again with Zerrix and Xar at my legs. They were both pushing my bones back into place. It was absolute torment! "What are you doing?!" I screamed.

"Our apologies, my Queen! But even a Wraith cannot endure that grand of a fall without sustaining injuries! Your snapped bones have punctured through your skin! We are setting them back in place while others retrieve food for you," Zerrix explained.

"Very well, just hurry!" I clenched my teeth. They promptly finished and elevated my legs.

"What shall we do now, my Queen?" Xar asked.

"There's a room in this facility that has this in it," I began looking over at Zerrix who pulled my broken necklace out of his pocket to show him. "It's on a much larger scale. I want you to sever it! Leave the chair intact, but sever the gate and the dialing device near it," I finished as my breathing was still very heavy. Bowing his head, I heard him hollering to some men as he left the room. Zerrix found a towel and wiped my blood off of his hands. Removing the armor from his torso, he scooted over to me and laid down beside me. "At least you didn't get hurt this time..." I smiled.

Caressing my face and neck with his hand, his face was serious. "Forgive me for failing to protect you, my Queen..."

I furled my eye ridges. "What are you talking about? I have never seen so much strength in my life!"

"Those moments where I was unable to reach you through that barrier of light made me desperate and once again fall prey to weakness. I couldn't prevent him from tainting your lips and body with his...the gesture enraged me to the core! I wanted to end his arrogance!"

"And you broke through the force field with brute strength! That is impossible in the standards of the Atlanteans! You even shattered his own personal shielding! I have never heard of that in any Atlantean logs! You never cease to impress me," I smiled placing my hand on his in attempts to offer him comfort. "You truly are my 'guardian'...my Zerrix."

His crooked smile was sincere as he leaned in close and kissed my forehead. I felt his exhale against my nose. Lifting my into a kiss, he wrapped his arms underneath my back and held me tightly. I scrunched my nose and groaned upon release from the pain in my legs. "My apologies," he breathed lowering me onto my back once again.

"No worries..." I chuckled brushing my fingers lightly down the side of his face. Laying on his side in a sort of protective stance, his face was pensive as I could hear the whispering of his thoughts. "What's on your mind?" I smiled in attempts to distract the vivid soreness of my legs.

Exhaling, he delayed his response for a moment. His gaze went to the different angles of the room. "This is the room where our former queen perished...if I recall, the man that died here as well was your father."

I sighed. Realizing he was right, I felt my rage flow through my veins once again. I hadn't calculated the shuttle that Tirrian used to escape into my plan of siege; this trickled into a wave of consequences leading to his departure through the Stargate. Closing my eyes, my breathing quickened as I continued to wallow in the unpleasant thoughts. "I loathe him! He is the reason for all of this suffering! ALL OF IT!"

"What shall we do to stop him, my Queen?" he asked graciously as he caressed my face and neck. His efforts were soothing for the most part, but my enmity still remained. Pursing my lips, I opened my eyes and glanced up into his. His eyes showed empathy and compassion which I found very therapeutic. Taking a deep breath, I slowly exhaled through my nose as I placed my hand on his.

"We will transform this laboratory for our use, produce more stunners here! We will arm ourselves and hunt down our prey into the deepest reaches of the galaxy! There will be nowhere for him to hide! His fall will be sweet retribution! We are Wraith! No one will stand in our way!" I declared through clenched teeth.

"We won't fail again...!" he breathed. There was an alarming coldness in his response. I could sense he took the blame on himself for Tirrian's escape. Placing my hand on the back of his neck, I pulled him towards me.

Softly kissing my lips, I ran my fingers down his face in attempts to soothe him. "No, we won't," I whispered as he rested his forehead against mine.


End file.
